Amtrak is a top travel choice in the Northeast. With an ally in the White House, it wants trains in

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

the rest of America.

Josh Lapp drives on Interstate 71 so frequently that he knows to give himself extra time to get from his home in Columbus, Ohio, to clients in Cincinnati or Cleveland. Sometimes, traffic congestion is the culprit that lengthens a two-hour drive and sometimes it’s a crash — unless it’s both.

The 31-year-old urban planner spends upward of $100 on a rental car for each business trip, an expense that grows alongside his hours behind the wheel.

“I lose a whole day of productivity when I drive, but the highway is my only option,” Lapp said. A proposed alternative would bring a different set of wheels through the corridor.

The nation’s passenger rail service is eyeing the 250-mile swath across Ohio for one of 39 proposed new routes. Using its success in the populous Northeast Corridor as a model, Amtrak is pushing a $75 billion expansion to bring trains to dozens of cities and towns across the nation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/06/15/amtrak-train-map-expansion-us/

[brooklynite]

1. My concern with the planned Amtrak expansion...

...is that adding 35 routes but with only 1 train a day won't build the network that America needs.

[Trailrider1951]

2. You're absolutely right about that.

Disclaimer: I was born and raised in Columbus so I'm familiar with the state. I'm also a big fan of Amtrak.

Ultimately the best scenario would be to have 2 or more trains per day in a corridor such as the tri cities in Ohio so that people's varying schedules can be accommodated. A good example of this level of service is the Amtrak Cascades service here in the Pacific Northwest. Five trains per day each way, some spanning the entire route between Eugene, Seattle and Vancouver B.C.

Why doesn't Ohio have such service? The answer is funding. Both Washington and Oregon States contribute to the overall cost of the service. Ohio? Don't make me laugh. Those gd republicans will never turn loose of any money necessary to make it happen. Tax money is never for making the lives of ordinary people better. Until Ohio turns blue, Amtrak is on its own. So 1 train per day is about all Ohio can hope for.

[DFW]

3. They had better get started

Assume we have 7 years left in a best case scenario, maybe 11 if there is fair voting, which I doubt, since there hasn't been a Democrat in the White House for 12 years in a row since FDR. Rail lines with stations, personnel, and reliable tech support to keep things running take many years to build and set up.

Here in Europe, where trains are king, new routes are planned well over a decade before they have a chance at becoming reality. Here in northwest Germany, the route from the major "twin--not really but close" cities of Düsseldorf and Köln down to Frankfurt used to taker a very scenic (but long 3 hours) route down to Frankfurt. Finally, a high-speed line was built, along with advanced trains that could take advantage of the new rails. What used to be a a trip of nearly 3 hours can now be made in 1 hour and 20 minutes, depending on the number of intermediate stops. It was something like 15 years in the making. Same goes for the Thalys route between Paris and Brussels. When I started working over here in the mid 1970s, the TEE nonstop express trains made the run in 3 hours. Now, the new route is run by Thalys (a private company), with their own trains, and the run is made in 80 minutes. France's own TGV now makes the run to Karlsruhe in southern Germany in under 3 hours, to Frankfurt in under 4. Those trains FLY, sometimes reaching speeds of 300 KPH. But they took MANY years to build and put into service. They were hugely expensive, and I don't think any of them have ever made money. The last "new" system was put into service decades ago.

On the other hand, they have improved the efficiency and the lives of tens, maybe hundreds, of millions of Europeans (and me!) who live in the crowded travel corridors that serve these areas.

[Klaralven]

5. Europe must have a more efficient process for condemning land, doing environmental studies, etc.

Building a new high-speed rail line in the US seems almost impossible in terms of acquiring the right-of-way and constructing tunnels, bridges, etc.

There has never been any success in straightening out the Northeast Corridor for truly high-speed operation, even in Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island, the least populous part. Much less the tracks through metropolitan New York City and Philadelphia.

In most of the rest of the country, the roadbeds are designed for freight, with very low grade and relatively tight curves. Most still use wooden ties, rather than concrete sleepers.

[Klaralven]

4. This New 6-Passenger Electric Aircraft Could Revolutionize Commuting

https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/new-electric-aircraft-revolutionize-commuting-1234592643/

You'll see scaled up autonomous electric aircraft first.

Plus, business travel is not expected to reach pre-Covid levels until 2024, and business travel is the profitable part.