Travelers Shift to Rail as Cost of Fuel Rises

[Cold Warrior]

As someone who takes the Amtrak a lot between the megalopolis and the Commie Cesspool, I can attest to this. The Boston-NYC-Washington trains are recently much more crowded, making the wait time in the cafe car to obtain a scotch significantly longer.

Travelers Shift to Rail as Cost of Fuel Rises
By MATTHEW L. WALD
June 21, 2008

WASHINGTON — Record prices for gasoline and jet fuel should be good news for Amtrak, as travelers look for alternatives to cut the cost of driving and flying.

And they are good news, up to a point.

Amtrak set records in May, both for the number of passengers it carried and for ticket revenues — all the more remarkable because May is not usually a strong travel month.

But the railroad, and its suppliers, have shrunk so much, largely because of financial constraints, that they would have difficulty growing quickly to meet the demand.

Many of the long-distance trains are already sold out for some days this summer. Want to take Amtrak’s daily Crescent train from New York to New Orleans? It is sold out on July 5, 6, 7 and 8. Seattle to Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 5? The train is sold out, but Amtrak will sell you a bus ticket.

“We’re starting to bump up against our own capacity constraints,” said R. Clifford Black, a spokesman for Amtrak.

The problem is that rail has shriveled. The number of “passenger miles” traveled on intercity rail has dropped by about two-thirds since 1960, and the companies that build rail cars and locomotives have also shrunk, making it hard to expand.

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[LogansPapa]

Didn't some asshole say recently that Americans 'Don't Have To Fly'?

[Sonnabend]

Didn't some asshole say recently that Americans 'Don't Have To Fly'?

..and how do you suggest they get to anyplace OUTSIDE the US?

[LogansPapa]

..and how do you suggest they get to anyplace OUTSIDE the US?

Joe Public? Not. Spend your travel dollasr in the United States. Screw countries overseas that have built their dreams on the backs of American tourist dollars. Business travel will continue, to a point, to the EU and Asia as before, because the corporations will fold that cost into the cost of their product. Regular citizens don't have that option. Go see the Grand Canyon and let folks on the Barrier Reef get a real job.;)

[Sonnabend]

...I take it all back, you're not stupid.

You're insane.

[LogansPapa]

...I take it all back, you're not stupid.

You're just insane.

Thank you. BTW - I'm in the aerospace industry and even I can see we can't afford the cost of jet fuel any more. This is an economic war. A war fostered by the current president.

[Sonnabend]

Thank you. BTW - I'm in the aerospace industry and even I can see we can't afford the cost of jet fuel any more

....right. You're the janitor.

This is an economic war. A war fostered by the current president.

No.

[Vepr]

The do it yourself approach

http://www.ehow.com/how_2087260_cros...paign=yssp_art

Adventure and someone else pays for your trip! :D

http://www.sofmag.com/news/index.html

Or don't bother with travel at all

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente...g_success.html

[LogansPapa]

[QUOTE=Sonnabend;11088]....right. You're the janitor..[/QUOTE

No, I'm an FAA Repair Station owner. And you're in charge of bed-pans.;)

No.

What was the price of gasoline on January 20th, 2000? What is the price today? And why?

[Sonnabend]

No, I'm an FAA Repair Station owner. And you're in charge of bed-pans.

That was sixteen years ago. Nice try and way off.