Public transit took a battering during the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns, social distancing, and the infectious disease itself kept people from bunching together on trains, planes, and buses for travel. The recovery has been slow, but something amazing has happened. Americans are choosing the romance and fun of train travel. Not only did the New York City Subway post consistent ridership growth and break one all-time record, but Amtrak has set a new all-time ridership record for the second year in a row. It reflects a greater trend of many Americans falling back in love with transit.
I’m not too surprised about the statistics I’ve been reading from transit agencies that have released their 2025 ridership data. I would expect the people living in America’s dense cities to choose trains and buses over getting stuck in traffic. But Amtrak’s data made me raise an eyebrow. It was only yesterday when I said that long-distance train travel can be seen as a novelty in America because a train across the country is only barely cheaper than a plane ticket, but takes two days rather than just hours.
Yet, Amtrak seems to be beating the odds. Right before 2025 ended, Amtrak posted its numbers, and they were phenomenal. America’s passenger railroad says that passengers rode 6.9 billion miles on its trains, which amounts to 34.5 million passenger trips. This, Amtrak says, is the best ridership it has had since its founding in 1971. Even better, Amtrak says its growth has been so good that this is the second year in a row its broken its all-time ridership and revenue record. It all appears to be a part of a trend of Americans taking to the rails both in cities and beyond.
Amtrak Reports A Big Win
Amtrak’s data isn’t necessarily new. Its 2025 fiscal report was published in November, and the statistics within are fascinating. You might expect much of Amtrak’s growth to be on lines like the iconic Northeast Corridor. After all, Amtrak launched a highly hyped new-generation Acela high-speed train, so I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that’s where all of the riders came from.
Yet, here’s what Amtrak said:
Ridership: 34.5 million customer trips, a 5.1% increase over FY24 and an all-time record.
Adjusted Ticket Revenue: $2.7 billion – a first in Amtrak’s history and 10.4% higher year-over-year.
Total Operating Revenue 1: $3.9 billion, a 9.1% increase over FY24.
Customer On-time Performance: Northeast Regional trains reached their highest on-time performance in recent years this September.
Amtrak experienced unprecedented demand across its network, serving more riders than ever before. This surge was felt across all service lines: the convenience and frequency of the Northeast Corridor continued to drive financial performance, State Supported services such as the Pacific Surfliner, Amtrak Cascades, Borealis, and Empire Service achieved record gains, and Long Distance routes saw increased capacity and strong ridership on iconic trains like the California Zephyr, Sunset Limited, and Coast Starlight. Amtrak Guest Rewards also surpassed 20 million enrolled members, who now represent over half of all riders.
That’s fantastic! If you care about Amtrak’s profitability, the railroad even says that it’s currently on track to make money by 2028. The interesting twist to all of this, as Trains.com reports, is that Amtrak has hiked fare prices. So more people were taking Amtrak trains despite many tickets being more expensive. Trains.com also notes that the Acela ran fewer trains due to reliability issues associated with older equipment. Yet, revenue per passenger-mile still increased. Technically, long-distance frequencies also decreased because, as Trains.com wrote, the Floridian replaced the Capitol Limited and Silver Star. However, on a passenger-mile basis, more people flocked to ride a long-distance Amtrak train than in prior years.
That’s simply incredible. Again, as I stated earlier, Amtrak loses its edge to airlines over long-distance routes. At the same time, higher prices mean even less incentive to take the train. Yet, people are doing it, anyway!
On January 24, the New York Times wrote an explainer about why trains are succeeding right now. Yes, depending on the trip that you choose, flying can be both cheaper and faster than taking a train. Flying can be even cheaper if you brave the likes of Spirit Airlines or Frontier Airlines. In one instance covered by the NYT, one person who wanted to ride Amtrak from New York City to Washington D.C. found that the round-trip Amtrak ticket cost $200 more than flying.
Yet, some people will pay that price, anyway. Why? Because even if the train takes longer and costs more, that passenger doesn’t have to go to the airport. There’s no waiting in line at the TSA, no getting a patdown, and no stuffing yourself into a hilariously tiny and uncomfortable seat on a plane. There’s also no lost luggage. Flying has become so unpalatable for some people that taking a slower train is the better bet.
Amtrak credits its increased revenues in part to its experiment with “dynamic pricing.” Basically, if you book a ticket close to your departure date, you can expect to pay more for it than if you booked further out. Dynamic pricing isn’t new, and several companies have tried it out to varying levels of success. It’s also a polarizing measure, as companies that implement dynamic pricing tend to get pushback. However, Amtrak says that its pricing model is working as trains are getting sold out and, of course, it set the aforementioned revenue and ridership records.
Amtrak Isn’t The Only One Feeling The Love
Amtrak isn’t the only entity enjoying the love from passengers. The New York MTA reported a total of 1.9 billion trips taken in 2025, the most trips taken in the system since 2019. Further, the MTA System says ridership is up seven percent from 2024. Of course, the MTA isn’t just trains, but buses and paratransit, too. The office of Governor Kathy Hochul notes that the subway system saw gains all by itself:
Subway ridership grew substantially in 2025, with nearly 1.3 billion total trips, up seven percent from 2024. Subway ridership continued its post-pandemic recovery, with total trips in 2025 up nearly 30 percent from 2022 and at 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels. The subway broke its post-pandemic single-day weekday and weekend ridership records on numerous occasions in 2025, with the most-recent single day high reached on December 11 with 4.65 million customers.
The MTA also reports that the subway, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad each broke On-Time Performance records last year. In August, the subway recorded an on-time performance of 85.2 percent, or the best performance ever since officials started tracking data. The subway system also beat post-pandemic single-day and weekend ridership records, with the best single-day being December 11 with 4.65 million riders.
What happened with Amtrak and New York isn’t an anomaly, either. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) also reported gains, with 146.8 million trips recorded by Metrorail. WMATA provides a helpful graph to visualize what its recovery looks like:
The graph also helps illustrate just how much of a battering that America’s transit systems took during the pandemic, and how hard everyone in these systems has been working to build ridership back up. What’s especially great is that you can pick pretty much any major city and see that people are falling back in love with transit.
According to a May 2025 report from the American Public Transportation Association, public transportation ridership has overall recovered to 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels in America. The association points to return-to-office mandates, service jobs, non-office jobs, restaurant jobs, and tourism as factors as to why people are riding buses and trains again.
Sometimes Slower Is Better
Still, the part that blows me away the most is the fact that Amtrak is hitting some home runs with ridership. Again, I expect people to ride regional commuter trains, but it’s awesome to read that more people are taking long-distance Amtrak trains instead of flying or driving.
According to Amtrak, some of its long-distance routes that saw healthy gains over the past couple of years include the California Zephyr, which runs from Chicago to San Francisco, the Texas Eagle, which rides from Chicago to San Antonio, the Adirondack, which connects New York City to Montreal, and the Sunset Limited, which links New Orleans with Los Angeles. How big were the gains? The Adirondack‘s ridership grew by 21.4 percent while the Sunset Limited grew by 18.9 percent. The Northeast Corridor, home to the Acela and the Northeast Regional, raked in the money with 15 million riders in that region alone.
Of course, that’s not to say that the ol’ mighty train is going to take down the airlines. The airline industry is a juggernaut with around 45,000 flights a day and just under 900 million passengers flown each year. Instead, I see this as Americans embracing the utility and sometimes the fun and romance of trains. Of course, not every train is like this. I’m sure few people call a ride on a subway particularly heartwarming.
I have said it before, but a ride on a slow train can be far more lovely than any flight and rival some of the best road trips. There’s something so soothing about watching the world roll by from a gently rolling carriage. You don’t have to worry about bad drivers, fuel consumption, tiny seats, the TSA, or any of that. You just sit down, relax, and let the train whisk you away.
So, the next time you need to get somewhere and aren’t looking forward to the whole airport experience, maybe consider a train. Sure, you’ll go slower and maybe pay more. But maybe you’ll also be like many of your fellow Americans and rediscover that train trips can still be awesome even in 2026.
Topshot graphic image: Amtrak
Pretty much every other week since early June, I have been making a ~1,500 mile round-trip down and up I-5 from Tacoma, WA to Davis, CA and back to visit with my increasingly frail and mentally declining mother. (89-years-old, rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s).
And take some burden off my brother, who lives 20 miles away. I have put more than 15K miles on a car that started out with barely 60K miles on it in May.
I would love to take the train, but it’s about 20 hours each way for a distance that I can make in my car in 12 hours, and the arrival and departure times are both around 11 pm. And then I would need to rent a car because this whole circus started when she wrecked her car 300 feet from her driveway.
And now it’s winter, when the Siskiyous are windy, steep and can be icy. So, I will be flying into SMF on Alaska about two hours each way (for about $100 less and at far more convenient times) and renting a car. The Siskiyous feature the highest point on I-5 and a number of curvy 6% grades, which I wouldn’t dare tackle after sundown. And 6% was pretty much the max the Feds allowed on our wonderful Interstate system.
And I am largely not being facetious. It was an amazing accomplishment Eisenhower got done, but I hate the sections of I-5 in mountainous territory that don’t have three lanes.
I am a long distance train commuter, the system I ride 250 miles a week on, Metrolink, shares track and stations with Amtrak, which I have taken a bunch of times on longer trips. One of the advantages with intercity train travel is that the train station is usually in the downtown area of cities and the airports are usually far away. So when you factor in the travel time between the airport and the part of the city that you want to visit, then going through security, rental car lots, etc. flying is less of a timesaver. Trains are also less sensitive to inclement weather than planes. LAX is the tenth circle of hell, the traffic is always terrible and the roads always under construction somehow making them worse then when they started.
The central city location aspect is awesome, if they have the frequency to make it work. Totally agree about LAX. Back in 1986, I was a TV news photographer, and the main female anchor and I flew down there out of SMF to catch a Finnair flight to Helsinki and then an Aeroflot flight to Moscow. We had to run all our gear all the way around the “horseshoe” in less than 20 minutes due to a departure delay out of SMF.
We were in Russia/USSR for four weeks. I was really happy to get home.
I loved flying into Newark and then taking the train into Penn Station. I had a lot of projects in Manhattan back then. And then I had a GF who lived a few blocks from the UN Building and had a beach house on Long Island. Those were fun weekends. The transit system around NYC was awesome.
Took the train from Pittsburgh to Chicago at the end of last month for a New Year’s party/birthday party combo. Got it at midnight, and trip was to be 8 1/2 hours. Mistakenly thought I would sleep most of the way there, like 99% of the passengers did, but a couple behind me talked (loudly) almost all the way there. I’d forgotten my ear buds in my gym bag at home, or it would have been more tolerable. That said, the train was mostly comfortable (I tried using the foot rest and reclining the seat, but I could never really get comfortable). This week, two friends were stuck in Miami cause of the weather here/no flights back/canceled, and ultimately they took the train from there to Pittsburgh. **37 hours**. If I was looking forward to getting off the train after 8, they were probably homicidal after that! I am glad that the train exists as an alternative to flying, but for the most part, I just want to get there, and losing a good chunk of it sitting on a train isn’t how I want to spend the time.
Since the Mardi Gras line came back late last year (Mobile, AL to New Orleans), my wife and I have taken it multiple times (from Biloxi, MS to NOLA). It absolutely rocks!!! It’s a 2 hour train ride versus a 90 minute drive, but that 30 extra minutes gets you (1) avoidance of parking issues in NOLA, (2) avoidance of the inevitable meth-head caused crash with predictably serious delays on I-10, (3) access to the cafe car which has a surprisingly good Bloody Mary and great breakfast items, (4) beautiful views of the water and marshlands in the Rigolets, and (5) decent wifi for working. The only downside has been the occasional drunken crowd on the late train back, but you can usually find a quiet location somewhere on the train. The seats are large and comfortable, there’s never been an issue finding overhead space for bags, and the tickets (one way) are usually between $20-$30. Since I drive a gas-guzzling GX that’s near a break even. 🙂 Seriously, I hope to never have to actually drive to NOLA again. I’m all here for Amtrak.
The closest I’ve gotten to Amtrak is seeing the Downeaster up close from a hotel that sits alongside the tracks in Freeport, ME (in the builder’s defense, the track was inactive when the hotel was constructed). I’m sort of surprised that passengers don’t wave; I remember getting to ride on a steam-powered train in New Hampshire when I was a kid, and I had a blast waving at people who were stopped at crossings.
I read on another site that Amtrak is now making their tickets digital, like Ticketbastard has done with concerts and sporting events.
Can people still ride on Amtrak and board in all locations in 2026 if they do not own a mobile phone?
I see Amish people taking Amtrak in Union Station all the time so yes.
Thanks!
The Drunk Train to and from the October Fest town of Hermann Mo is kind of nice. basically follows the MO river from STL or from KC. some stops, but no train changes on any of the rides I saw. it does require travel to the terminal, parking, and of course dealing with Drunky Drunks, but it also provides a Rest or continuance of the festival on the way home.
Hermann is a great town!
We are flying from a Midwest city to Albany this spring with two littles. I am really dreading flying with them. We briefly considered driving (24 hours if non-stop) but that would be even worse than flying.
I really wish we could rent a family room on a train so we didn’t need to keep two high energy diaper wearing gremlins under control in the airports and on the planes. But Amtrak doesn’t come to my city and driving to the closest city with service, adding room options where available, brings the cost of the train to $9k! Then we spend two days bouncing between buses and trains for the trip out and again on the trip back. All the travel options suck, flying sucks the least.
I rode on a Norwegian train from Bergen to Oslo 2 years ago and I’m sure they’re not the only system to have it, but they had a “family car”. Grouped seats with tables, bigger restroom with changing area, parking/storage for strollers and stuff. A “soft” playroom with slide and other stuff to jump on, and nature-themed videos and activities. If I was a kid or a parent I’m sure I would have liked it.
Main Street Station at RVA is a 12-15 minute walk from my loft – so depending on traffic it’s no slower to get to DC than driving, and about the same cost when you figure in express-lane tolls and DC parking.
And the train is much less hassle than driving.
I wouldn’t dream of wasting time and money flying.
Alexandria here. I-95 from south of Springfield and beyond is just a living hell. I should go to RVA more often, but I thought most trains went to Staples Mill. I’ll have to check it out.
There is a stop at Staples Mill prior to Main St.
Nope. People tell me every year that the train is better, the train is good, if the US had a high speed rail network we’d live in a utopia, etc etc etc.
No.
Commuter trains and subways and all that make absolute sense but once you’re out of the NE Corridor, the train sucks. I’ve taken the train from Albany to Chicago, I took it because I was a broke college kid and the train was cheaper. I will never take a long distance train or bus ever again, it is the most soul crushing experience ever. I was on like hour 14 of the train thinking, man I could have been in Chicago 10 hours ago.
The airport isn’t bad, whether or not you have lounge access you get there, you sit, you fly, you land, you on your way. The train experience might be scenic at times, but when you’re going 40mph through the adirondacks, you’ll want to melt your brain.
I did the same Chicago to Albany train when I was a college student also. But I got in the train in Toledo. The whole train ride out and back are short story worthy. We were six hours late on the way to Albany and only three hours late on the return trip to Toledo. Six hours late on a 12 hours train trip!
I’ve taken Amtrak from Boston to Old Orchard Beach in Maine. That trip was great, and only slightly late.
Right … but if we did have high speed rail with dedicated tracks (or even current rail but give Amtrak priority over freight), none of your comment would be applicable. And the train would be godd, the train would be good. Not sure we’d rise to the level of a utopia, but it would certainly be nicer to travel.
I live 2 hours from a major airport and 1 mile from the Amtrak station. Problem is there is so much freight traffic here that the Amtrak trains get stuck on the tracks for HOURS. It’s really a shame. I’d love to have the train be a decent option.
Cheaper travel is a pretty big selling point, and could even have the effect of lowering plane ticket prices to compete with a better functioning rail system. Trains can also be more comfortable than flying, bigger seats and more space between rows, more restrooms, dining cars, observation areas, and it’s generally way more flexible for onboard amenities than a plane. Being able to see the scenery is also pretty nice, and if it’s boring you can just have a snooze or walk around. I’ve been across a good chunk of Europe by train and it was better than flying for my tastes, even if it’s slower. It would just be nice to have the option here in the states though, if I’m trying to get to Atlanta from Charlotte then I could certainly take a fairly quick flight, but if I’m in no rush or trying to save some money then a cheap train that departs a few times regularly throughout the day would be way preferrable to taking 85 in a car or in a greyhound. With some upgrades to the rail system, that could also take less time than driving.
My wife and I have talked about doing an Amtrak trip to Chicago for a couple days – not having to drive and worry about parking is a massive bonus.
I wish I could take a train from my city to Chicago. Amtrak doesn’t visit my Midwest city of ~1 million people. The last time we visited Chicago we drove. Getting in and out of the city sucked, finding parking sucked and was expensive. Then we didn’t need the car the entire week we were there.
It will still kind of suck, but next time you could research the best Metra or South Shore station to leave your car at. Parking is free or cheap, and the train will cover the shitty, congested part of the trip.
We tend to forget that air travel isn’t that fast. With delays, mandatory get there early times , getting to the airport parking shlepping luggage, getting through TSA, finding the fucking gate etc etc. it is horrible. My most recent snd favorite case in point was returning from a wedding in Atlanta, coming back to MKE. There was some odd earthquake ee thing, our original flight was cancelled which meant connecting flight was effed. We got an early flight. Sat on the tarmac for an hour got to Nashville where the layover was 6 fucking hours. Our flight left at 11 PM. Totally full no treats soda or water. Crammed in like sardines in a tin. Every single MF er had carry on luggage. We got home at 1 AM. The parents of the bride who live near us drove home. They got there before we got home. Our experience was horrid/expensive ( hello airport food) boring and uncomfortable. (I’m 6’2” and 230). The seats are now made for preteens). So trains sound like a breath of fresh air. Oh wait. I can get up and walk about? There is room for my legs. I don’t have to deal with multiple airports and miserable airline employees who hate their jobs? Finally and I apologize for the length of this but Scott Walker can go burn in Hades for what he did to our railroad dreams.
I’m 5’6” and airplane seats are cramped for me. Made for preteens indeed. I’ve done a decent amount of overnight Amtrak trips this year for work and it’s really not bad.
Back in college on a trip home, the return flights ended up taking me the 16 hours that the drive would have been, and luckily I had a longboard in my luggage to make the last few miles back to the dorm easier since it was 1am and the buses were done for the day. I decided after that to just do the drive, since even though the expected travel time was much longer, it’s more flexible and predictable.
It’s too bad that most of the US isn’t dense enough to make trains more feasible. If you’re ever in Japan, take the Shinkansen, it’ll blow your mind, and the seats are even comfortable for me at 6′ 5″.
Scott Walker can burn in Hades for countless things. This is definitely one of them.
Well yes, but I was staying on point vis a vis trains. Water to Waukesha, destroying education and blowing billions on Mountain Pleasant and the Taiwanese Mafia will always be a part of his ‘legacy’
Last month we rode The Cardinal to Chicago. It was cheaper than storing the car in a garage in The Loop for 4 nights, and it was a novel experience for us. I’d do it again for longer trips, but I’m not sure my wife would agree.
There were two drawbacks – the schedule is largely overnight making sleep difficult and the next day exhausting, and the seats, while nice and roomy, had a forward tilt to the bottom that got tiring during a 9 hour ride.
I don’t bother looking at flights for any destination I can drive to in a day, so I don’t know what that would have cost us, but I bet it was more than the $114 round trip per person I paid on Amtrack.
It helps that Chicago has a great transit system. As tourists, we had no need for a car while we were there and our hotel was a block from a station on The Loop.
I’ve driven into NYC for work, which is fine when I’m not paying for parking, but I’ve always taken the train when just visiting. It adds a few minutes (unless there’s traffic, in which case it may save a few minutes) and I don’t have to pay $60/night for a car I don’t need. I’d certainly try to do the same thing for Chicago.
Any flying to NYC is easy for us – dozens of flights per day. But as Mercedes mentioned those get more expensive as you get closer. And when you figure in the time/expense to get to/from Manhatten and the airports. And again we’re parking our car at the airport to sit for a couple days.
I wish more cities had the local public transport to support taking a train to visit.
im stoked that amtrak is doing so well. if they could actually enforce priority on the tracks shared with freight, we’d really have something. also, they are putting in an amtrak station in my tiny little mountain town (Rollinsville, CO) to serve the ski area up here. but that also means i can take the train into Denver in about an hour, which is going to be amazing. also, my elderly relatives can now just take the train to see me, which has me positively giddy.
I’d love to see Amtrak buy their own rail corridors in more places, with so many defunct rail lines from the past, you’d think it would be possible. Probably pretty steep costs putting in all the track though.
Sorry Mercedes but putting “Love for NYC Subway” and proving it with increased ridership without mentioning the NYC congestion charge that Hochul delayed to get reelected then slapped through the mouth of new yorkers is like measuring the love of a captive woman for her rapist by the number of babies she bears him without specifying the exact details of their relationship.
Sorry to put it that bluntly but currently new yorkers have to pay to get into their own city by car, or to get out, which is a straight jump to feudal times, in order to save a behemoth that is a state within the state, uncontrollable, unsatiable, ineffective and always hungry.
The congestion charge was force-fed to automobilists – many of them our NJ neighbors – to feed the MTA. They were very clear about it, never bothered hiding it.
The headlines in NYC during Covid, when millions were losing their jobs, were that things are so bad that the MTA won’t receive raises that year. Poor them. May the fleas of a thousand camels infest their armpits, and all the scum around them as well.
Congestion pricing is hugely popular in NYC. Funny thing is, if you have to drive in the city for business, the traffic is so much better that you can get vastly more stuff done, make more deliveries, whatever.
The times I’ve driven into the zone the fee is the least of my concerns.
The congestion pricing scheme in NYC is an unmitigated success on all fronts. Rarely is a government policy so universally positive with overwhelming data proving it.
It was obviously going to be a win given how well it works in other cities, but the speed at which it reached its goals in NYC is impressive – and damning to any argument against it.
Unmitigated success my ass. Success in saving a bloated mafia-like structure that couldn’t make money on its own.
The only way to fix it is to privatize the MTA. Which I think would work, but you’d pay through the nose to use the service. The coverage would shrink considerably, too.
congestion charge targeted non new yorkers, buddy. the suburb residents feasting on the cities benefits while clogging the streets with their personal cars, filling the city with air and noise pollution, and taking up public space by parking for pennies considering the value of that real estate.
I do wish they’d exempt residents, but yes it’s an overall good and it’s fine
What a bizarre comment fueled by motonormativity (carbrain as the kids call it). Cars do not belong in cities, and NYC residents have been overwhelmingly supportive and content with the results of the congestion pricing. I encourage you to think not of how congestion pricing “hurts” drivers, but instead how it massively benefits city residents, pedestrian and non motorized mobility, and funds public transit that is far faster and efficient than vehicular transportation.
I encourage you to read my original post for what it is: you can not chant the success of something that was artificially inflated by a display of force and applications of mandates.
The NYC subway’s ridership is not up because people love it, but because more people were forced to use it by making their movement in the city by other means impossible or very difficult.
As for thinking about others – I am ready to pay in tax three times what I’ll ever pay in congestion charges, have those taxes go to save the MTA or any other monstrosity, AS LONG as I don’t have to see the whole population of Long Island PAY to be able to DRIVE home, say – from NJ or from anywhere else, NEVER having to use the NYC subway one way or the other!!!
Are you guys all blind?!? There’s a whole area that no longer has a way to drive home without paying a toll. Not a fifty cents toll – a f#cking NYC level toll. People who just coughed 15 bucks to get in from NJ have to pick a paid route to get to long Island. Much do I care that some Manhattanite little shit likes it better now – present company excluded.
And yet the world continues to turn.
Deranged take. Congestion pricing has improved driver and pedestrian safety, reduced air pollution, and yes, directs more trips onto subways and buses.
You sound like you’re reading a Fox News script verbatim and I’ll bet my entire life savings you’ve never been within 1,000 miles of New York.
Let me know where to provide you my zelle data, and feel free to eat recycled food.
I live in Manhattan, I drive in Manhattan. The congestion charge is perfectly fine and people from NJ should take the train to work.
The only issue I have with the congestion charge is that it stops at 60th street. So either exempt people that live south of 60 or make it the entire island.
In addition to all the reasons you’re wrong that others have pointed out, I just want to say that it’s telling that you used such a gross comparison of a “captive woman and her rapist.” Just fyi, normal people who don’t have issues with women don’t casually say things like that.
Just FYI, people who don’t have issues with people in general don’t throw blanket smartassness. I know I don’t.
My comparison was gross on purpose to convey how sick the situation is, and how crooked it is to praise it without putting all the info in the balance.
Uh huh. I see. Assumption that those who disagree with you must not have all the facts. Next.
You got the assumptions horse out of the barn – now ride it.
I’m glad someone else called that out. It’s disgusting to compare a relatively minor political disagreement with rape.
Feudal times would be to surround the city with a moat and then use a complex series of bridges and tunnels with gates you can’t pass until you pay the troll. Oh, wait.
It would be one thing if it was a boondoggle, but it’s working as designed: traffic is down, traffic speed is up (slightly), and pollution is down. You *already* pay the Port Authority a considerable fee to enter the city, and compared to them the MTA looks positively kindergarten. Also, if you are in fact an NYC resident, it’s likely cheaper than getting taxed further by the city because most of the revenue will be drawn from people outside the city.
It’s naive to think NYC wouldn’t start doing this, especially after seeing successful models in other cities.
“… if you are in fact an NYC resident, it’s likely cheaper than getting taxed further by the city because most of the revenue will be drawn from people outside the city…”
Precisely this. I am ready to pay a higher tax in order for the guy who works in jersey city and drives home to Jericho LI. to not have to double their tolls to get back to their kids. I do know that most will take the paid tunnel out of Manhattan, but the choice has to be theirs, not mine.
Wait, this is somehow an example. LOL, if the guy can afford to live in Jericho, he can *absolutely* afford to live in Jersey City. And if that smells too much or the schools are too sketchy, then go live in Summit. OR, maybe use the public transit that will get him there and back in about the same time frame.
It’s nice that everyone I’ve ever heard complain about congestion pricing also expresses their disdain in the most insufferable hyperbole imaginable
LOL, you expressed this so much more eloquently that I did.
They’re putting in the work to really make sure no one ever wants to be associated with their whiney asses and I appreciates that
Now imagine if they were good and competitively priced?
Getting to and from the airport at each end adds about 3 hours, if you are taking transit, or maybe shave off an hour for an extra $150.
If you are going from NYC Midtown to the DC Mall, say you need to check out MoMA and the national portrait gallery the same day, the train is much faster.
I’ve taken the Northeast Regional from DC to Boston round trip every January for a convention for the past few years. Much less of a hassle than flying, fascinating scenery, generous luggage allowance, good pricing (~$130 this year, booked well in advance), the cafe car food is actually good, and the station in Boston is walking distance to the venue. This year the return train was delayed 2 hours but that’s been the outlier in my experience. The hardest part is getting a ride to Union Station in DC early in the morning.
In 2008 we took the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco (Emeryville) and back. It was the only vacation of my life where I returned more rested than when I left! Yes It took a lot longer and cost more than flying but it was infinitely more relaxing and totally enjoyable
I have taken the Southwest Chief and Lakeshore Limited across the country and the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Oregon several times. It is unlike any other form of travelling – breathtaking scenery from seats that are sofa-comfy, if you want to have a beer or a glass of wine they are readily available, nap whenever you want, food is usually pretty good, it’s incredibly relaxing. The coastline and sunset in the section going along the Central California coast through Vandenberg AFB are gorgeous.
I’m in the DC area so the connectivity is decent. With some planning you can take some day trips to a few cute towns in VA, and it’s a no brainer for Philly and NYC. In the post Covid era I’ve been taking a trip 2 or 3x a year. It’s just a more chill option if it works, bags, food, drink and edibles really aren’t an issue if you’re discreet about. I’ve heard stories about some hard nose conductors, but I’ve never experienced that. They do a good job of keeping spaces clear and watching out for families and elders.
“Not only did the New York City Subway post consistent ridership growth and break one all-time record”
That’s not so much people experiencing the “joy of trains” as much as it is them dealing with soul-crushing RTO mandates. Same for NJ Transit and LIRR.
Commuting sucks in any and every form.
Ha! Yeah, as I note, the “joy” part is more for the folks enjoying beautiful vistas from cross-country Amtrak trains. 🙂
One time the subway is fun is when they bring out the vintage cars around the holidays. Amtrak has something similar (albeit more frequent) with the Pullman Railway Journeys.
“Next stop is Willoughby!”
I just put the down payment on a house that is about 12 miles from the end of the metro north Harlem line, and 12 miles from Lime Rock Raceway ( the one Connecticut, not the 1/8 mile dirt oval in the Adirondacks that sounds amazing) and cheap senior tickets were definitely part of the decision.
I think it may pass through Willoughby, I’m not planning on going there soon though.
A lot of the subway is just doing non work stuff. After I think ten rides a week the rest are free. When I’m in town I’m taking the subway probably 4 times a day.
And try getting a surfboard from the upper west side to the beach any other way than the A train. I haven’t surfed in over 50 years, but I see lots of surfboards on the A.
True. But the recent uptick is definitely increased commuters.
I encourage people to love life using public transit. Just know the 9-to-5er sandwiched between your surfboard and the couple making out dreams of nothing but murder.
“dealing with soul-crushing RTO mandates.”
“Commuting sucks in any and every form.”
Yes it does. Time to unionize!
I’d like to take a train sometime. I probably live in the largest metro area in the US with no Amtrak service. It’s 100+ miles to the nearest Amtrak station in Needles, CA. I’ve seen it suggested that Amtrak offers a bus-to-rail service, but if I go to the Amtrak website, it tells me that no routes are available from Las Vegas to… anywhere.
Makes me wonder how far from launch Brightline West is?
I think they’re currently projecting 2029.
Lots of people are wondering how far from bankruptcy Brightline is, they are circling the drain financially: https://www.wsj.com/articles/brightline-railroad-creditors-huddle-with-advisers-ahead-of-interest-payment-41d26cf6?st=SLyozs&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
I take the train from Metro Boston to NYC. I would never drive to Manhattan. Such a nice ride. I try to get super close to the dining car. Way better than flying
I used to commute from Brooklyn to Boston to work for IBM. Took a car service from park slope to the marine air terminal at LaGuardia. I’d nap in the car, then the shuttle wasn’t too bad.
Then in Boston IBM would hire off duty police officers to drive a van of us from the airport to Cambridge. They would cut through parking lots, drive on the sidewalk, and generally drive like an outtake from the Bourn movies and it still took longer to get from the airport to Cambridge than the flight. The only thing that made it bearable was that I was charging them $100 (this was in the 1990s) an hour whether I was traveling or sitting in their office.
I hated that commute.
Train is the choice when the traffic (and/or construction) is expected to be crap. From where I live in Ventura County, at certain times of the day, and I HAVE to get downtown? Yeah, train. Got Metrolink or Amtrak choices.
To Santa Barbara, with the terrible construction, it was easy to take the train to SB, walk around, taste wines and beers, then stumble back to the train and drink a bottle that we just bought.
Relatives from out of town went to San Diego first to see their other relatives, then took the train up to VC for Xmas with us. Another took the train down from Portland. Said the food was great, and the views spectacular.
Across the country? No way. I don’t even like wasting the one day via plane when I have to.
Meanwhile, The LA County Metro allows too many crazy homeless (docile and not smelly I OK with) on the trains. We simply drive to places like Hollywood or to LA Kings games because of it. Yes, parking costs way more than the train tix, even for four. THAT is how uncomfortable and non-secure the trains are here.
Metro is installing new gates at stations where you have to tap your ticket to enter and then tap again to exit. I have heard it is cutting down on the unhoused quite a bit. I personally hate parking in Hollywood, sometimes there will be multiple concerts/shows letting out at the same time and I have been stuck in gridlock for 2 hours just trying to get out of the parking structure 2 blocks to the freeway. The B Line (Red Line) goes right from Union Station to Hollywood and Highland (Dolby Theater, El Capitan Theater, Mann’s Chinese Theater) or Hollywood and Vine (Pantages Theater, Fonda Theater, The Montalbán)
We bought tickets for Jim Gaffigan at the Dolby in May. Waiting on parking, trying to get wife to take the train. Can park elsewhere if we have to.
Taking the train home costs $1,459, takes 79 hours, and the last 4 hours are on a bus.
Or for that price I could fly First Class, get a special line for check in and TSA, wait for the plane in the lounge, and have a roomy seat on the plane with the flight attendant keeping my glass topped of with bourbon.
It isn’t a hard choice. (Personally for a 5 hour trip I’ll just pay a bit extra for a premium economy seat with more legroom and pay half as much.)
That’s why this whole thing blows my mind. The travel times are whatever to me. The Acela can sometimes beat planes to certain destinations, and I figure those riding trains across the country aren’t on a tight schedule. I’d happily buy a train ticket and watch the world roll buy for a couple of days. That was the original plan for my honeymoon trip.
But it’s the pricing that throws me for a loop. Every time I think I’ll take a train, I look up the price and end up booking a plane ticket. Yet, here we are with Amtrak increasing both ridership and revenue. Maybe one day I’ll take one of the shorter trips between cities just to see what it’s like. 🙂
I have taken Amtrak on a shortish trip and it was great. We rode from Birmingham to New Orleans for the weekend. It was about a 6 hour ride on the train vs 5 hours to drive. Tickets were about $30 each way. I was happy to not have to focus on driving and kick back and relax. There was a tailgate atmosphere on the train with people bringing coolers of beer and food and listening to a football game.
Having been on the train – watching the world roll by sounds good – until you realize the train track is generally on a right-of-way with trees on either side and you can’t see anything. At least that is how most of my train trip was.
The Wolverine line is nice. I’d love to take it into Detroit more often, but for the price of two tickets I can usually drive and park for less. When work requires me to visit Chicago though, it is the train all the way!
The cost/benefit ratio isn’t always about the $$$’s. Factor in time spent either a loved one, talking, being able to stroll about the train, actually experience the size of our country, and not feed the incredibly polluting and greedy airline industry has significant benefit. We vote our beliefs and lifestyles with our purchases, and as my wife reminds me: it’s the journey, not just the destination. So I say take that train for a second honeymoon and pay for it by getting rid of one or two of your ‘fleet’.
PS the sleeper car options are tres sexy
Not having to go through the airport parking lot and the TSA checkpoint is so much more relaxing.
“…The Fun Of Trains”. That’s why many people take the trains cross country. It’s not about the speed or the cost for many of us. It’s a fun adventure. The folks who book the train cabins, for many of them, the train ride IS their vacation.
I took the Southwest Chief from LA to Chicago last year (3 day trip). We booked one of the private bedrooms w a bathroom. It was expensive, yeah, more than $1k/day. It was also relaxing, scenic, and the included food and drinks were great!
For the people sitting in the ‘cheap’ seats in the back, the story is different, of course. The cost/time value prop is different for them.
79 hours?! I drove 3500 miles across the country in 30 hours less and it would cost barely more than a third at today’s premium fuel prices including an oil change!
That is Portland to Detroit. It starts with a 16 hour detour to Sacramento, CA. Then a 4 hour layover. Then on to Chicago, then Toronto, then a bus to Detroit. (Then I would need find transportation to get another 2 hours north)
I could also go to Ann Arbor, MI – which is just west of Detroit. That is 81 hours.
The $1500 is for a roomette that seats 2 and converts to bunk beds at night. A regular seat is $350 but there is zero chance I’m spending 3 days sitting on a train with no sleep.
The Empire Builder will get you from Portland to Chicago, and the Wolverine line should get you the rest of the way, no buses or visits to Sacramento required. Still expensive and slow, though.
Yes that should be an option – but Amtrak’s route planner does not seem capable of putting together an Empire Builder + Wolverine trip.
Looking at Thursday 5-Feb:
All Train: Coast Starlight down to Sacramento, California Zephyr to Chicago, then Wolverine to Ann Arbor. That date says it takes 78 hours and costs $1494
Mixed Service: Empire Builder to Chicago, Lake Shore to Toronto, Bus to Ann Arbor. 61 hours / $1012
Build my own trip:
Why won’t Amtrak build that trip? I suspect because they know they can’t ensure a 1 hour connection and the next Wolverine doesn’t leave until 6:45 am the next day.
The zephyr is worth the extra trouble, amazing view.
I can’t see ever wanting to spend 3 days on a train.
Then this isn’t for you
https://adventuresbytrain.com/around-the-world-in-100-days-seat61/
Nope. Nor the cruise ship version – even if living 365 days a year on a ship is cheaper than living on land in a lot of major US cities.
American Airlines WOULD build that trip because by their rose colored maths it is TECHNICALLY possible under ideal conditions (first off the train, empty airport, no map checks, no bathroom break, no luggage, and 100% sprinting) to make that connection. Then they will gaslight you for missing the impossible connection to avoid responsibility for your accommodations and reschedule you through Miami, NYC and LA on a train departing two days later.
I routinely book flights with 1 hour connections on United and haven’t missed one in years. I’m not running from gate to gate either.
I’ve done train trips with an 1 hour connection in Europe as well.
The problem for Amtrak is they don’t know how long they are going to sit on a side track waiting for freight trains to pass – even though by law passenger trains have priority.
I’ve done that 20 or 30 times.
It sucks when you fall asleep though.