For close to a century, passenger trains were the way people in this country traveled. But then, almost overnight, it all changed. Flying had become more affordable and more accepted. And the brand new Interstate Highway System had turned the automobile into the family’s magic carpet. Passenger trains became old fashioned and out of favor….
I’ll wager that a year or two from now, an objective analysis will show that what Amtrak is doing with the long-distance trains during this pandemic might possibly have made their bottom line look better, but would also have come at the expense of literally millions of Americans who live in less populated areas outside…
Not for me, I’m afraid. Normally, by this time of year I would have made one or two trips and at least one of those would have included one of Amtrak’s long-distance trains. But not with this damn pandemic. That will eventually change, I hope, so I have started planning a trip. This itinerary starts…
During the worst days of the coronavirus, people were avoiding crowds, which meant they weren’t traveling. As a consequence, ridership on Amtrak’s long-distance trains dropped to around 15% of capacity, which was pretty awful, of course. Nevertheless, those trains continued to operate daily, although with fewer coaches and sleepers. . But now, in this moment-in-time,…