Amtrak’s Floridian pulled out of the station and we bounced, rattled, swayed, jostled, jiggled, jerked, lurched, rumbled, clattered and clunked towards Washington, D.C.
It was my first train trip in more than 30 years and only the second since the government “rescued” train travel by taking it over from the private sector.
Railroads built America, lacing its 3.8 million square miles together with thousands of miles of track and making it possible to criss-cross the nation in comfort at a relatively low cost, before the automobile and airplane.
After its peak in World War II, railroads went into decline until Amtrak, a “quasi private, for-profit” corporation was established.
After some 30 years, the idea that it would make a profit evaporated. Since its inception, taxpayers have sunk more than $100 billion into the venture.
Train travel, however, remains popular only where common sense and experience in other countries would lead you to believe – in dense populated areas.
In Asia and Europe, train travel is popular, comfortable and inexpensive, with exceptions. But in the cost of moving each traveler, the United States is less efficient than the U.K., France, Germany and Japan. Private companies still operate trains in some of those countries, providing competition, and in densely populated Japan they turn a profit.
But back to the U.S. We chose a coach car. It was about the same as plane tickets would have been but took 14 hours longer, which meant overnight. Sitting up. With lights and noise. And no bath. There was substantial legroom but you had to put bags there if overhead racks were full.
On the return trip we tried upgrading to a “roomette.” This turned out to be a closet with two seats facing each other about 4 feet apart and no leg room. There is a sink and a toilet. The seats convert into very uncomfortable beds. On both trips, the trains ran late, but the food on the limited menu was very good.
Upgrading got us into a more comfortable waiting room in United Station, but when the Amtrak employees (average salary $121,000 a year) led us to our seats, they put us into a coach car and didn’t move us to the roomette car until after we had gotten all settled with our heavy carry on baggage. We had to collect it and drag it three cars down.
As a child, I traveled on trains with my father when he made business trips. They ran on time. I don’t know what they cost. The dining was elegant, the food delicious and the beds were Pullman car berths or drawing rooms and were very comfortable.
In the 1950s the federal government declared the Pullman company a monopoly and crushed it, so there are no longer Pullman cars.
Under the DOGE movement in the federal government, the high cost of Amtrak has been eyed, and into the federal budget the administration has proposed slashing $2 billion from Amtrak, a 13.5 percent cut. Elon Musk and others contend that Amtrak distorts markets and private investment that might provide better, lower-cost service.
Knowing politicians, I suspect they will increase funding instead. I just hope they spend some of it on new rails. It is a mighty rough ride.
