This weekend, I rode the Amtrak to Charlotte. Loved it! Why don't people take the train more often? Okay, it does take longer than flying if you're travelling long distances, but here's why the train rocks if you have the time to take it:
1. WAY cheaper than flying or renting a car. I paid $60 for a round-trip ticket, and it would have cost more than that just to rent a car, plus gas is expensive.
2. You get to see the scenery as a passive observer. North Carolina is gorgeous, and the trees are just starting to change. Today I saw a goat hanging out on someone's lawn (it was a farm, to be fair). Until now, I don't think I've ever seen a goat anywhere besides the zoo. I also saw cotton growing in a field. That was a first, as well.
3. Train seats are much more comfortable than plane seats, the gentle rumble and rock of the train is soothing, and you don't get that weird "I'm suspended in an air-tight vehicle coasting 30,000 feet in the air and defying the laws of gravity, and yet I can't tell I'm moving" feeling. It also feels much safer when there's no laminated card in the seat pocket telling you how to use your seat bottom as a floatation device.
4. Trains are just cool. They remind you of how quickly (and how slowly) the world is moving around you. Taking the El in Chicago always makes me tingle. The excitement of people coming and going, the rumble of the clacking trains on the tracks, the whoosh of the train passing you by. It's like the videos of city life happening in double-time.
5. Trains are more environmentally conscious than driving or flying. Yes, there is still the issue of the impact the train has on the surrounding rail corridor, not to mention that they use a huge amount of electricity (hmmm...masters project topic floating in my head...) Actually, I'm going to do some research on this, and I'll get back to you...
My SLC friend doesn't know it yet, but I'm now contemplating a cross-country train ride to visit him over spring break. The American West by train. Awesome. In the meantime, I'm going to continue advocating rail travel. Maybe it'll make a comeback.
