A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[웃 910]

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

I'm speechless!

[kytwell 179]

I agree to an extent. The thing is it's so damn expensive to use the train here in America. To take Amtrak from Philadelphia to Penn Station in NYC for me, the wife and 3 kids would cost about $350 dollars round trip. And it takes about 1.5hrs. For me to drive there it would take @2.5 hrs, 20 dollars to park and @ $30 in fuel. It just doesn't make economical sense to use trains for transportation. I don;t know if it's the manpower costs to operate or low ridership that causes the huge cost to utilize it, but it's just not worth it.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

rail here loses money, greatly. it's a waste of time/effort.

NO THANK YOU!

[Danno 1,228]

Wait a minute..... I thought Obama was doing stuff like that will all that stimulus money?

He gave us the whole FDR speech about "rebuilding America as we put people back to work".

I expected massive infrastructure projects like Nuclear plants, Dams, Rail lines........ instead we got Solendra.

We went massively into debt, for what?

[웃 910]

Wait a minute..... I thought Obama was doing stuff like that will all that stimulus money?

He gave us the whole FDR speech about "rebuilding America as we put people back to work".

I expected massive infrastructure projects like Nuclear plants, Dams, Rail lines........ instead we got Solendra.

We went massively into debt, for what?

You bring up an excellent point. From a debt standpoint we are actually worse off than many of the European countries, as well as Canada and Australia.

The difference between us and all of them is that they have things to show for it while we have absolutely nothing.

They have the infrastructure, free health care, and free education.

The only positive I can think of (for the United States) is a favorable tax code to the wealthy?

Edited December 3, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I'm speechless!

I'm not.

Only uneducated people ignorant of markets for transportation would not be able to answer such nonsense. OR liberal Kool Aid drinkers.

There is a JetBlue flight every morning to JFK for $49. A320 aircraft, state of the art, satellite TV in each headrest. Gets there in 40 minutes and you can be in Manhattan before the stores open after eating a good breakfast in Burlington for another $8 from JFK to Times Square (on a train that makes sense). The airport is new, modern and clean, 4 miles from downtown. And it does not cost US taxpayers anything for me to fly to New York

The Amtrak costs $60, leaves at 9am, arrives at 7pm. Old train station about 12 miles from downtown and they do not even sell tickets at the station anymore.

Amtrak is heavily subsidized.

What would we "upgrade"?

PS Very few trains in the FSU including Russia look like that one. They have ONE like that in Ukraine, between Kiev and Kharkov. Costs more than flying. Most use WW2 era coaches, electric locomotives on an outdated track guage that is not compatiable withh the remainder of Europe (5' 4" gauge vs 4' 8.5")

The railroads OWNED this country 100 years ago and decided they were in the railroad business instead of deciding they were in the transportation business. There should be "Santa Fe Airlines" but there is not.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[웃 910]

I'm not.

It was a joke.

Steven titled the thread "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"

I said "I'm speechless"....ie 0 words...

Get it? hahha. Funny joke, huh?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It was a joke.

Steven titled the thread "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"

I said "I'm speechless"....ie 0 words...

Get it? hahha. Funny joke, huh?

The plane goes to New York at 540 MPH for $49. Top that with a train without government subsidies and I will ride it.

[Danno 1,228]

The plane goes to New York at 540 MPH for $49. Top that with a train without government subsidies and I will ride it.

You hit a home-run on this one, thought it might be a nice idea to go by train last year..... it was cheaper to fly... and as you said, the train tickets are heavily discounted via tax subsidies.

Heck even taking a bus is no saver.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You hit a home-run on this one, thought it might be a nice idea to go by train last year..... it was cheaper to fly... and as you said, the train tickets are heavily discounted via tax subsidies.

Heck even taking a bus is no saver.

Some people have to be completely cracked in the head to think I will pay MORE to take longer to get somewhere. Seriously? The best trains in that photo are not even HALF as fast as an airplane. Get real?

Environmentally better? Maybe. But remember we are in a country with people that do not care if polar bears drown if it means they have to drink Coca-Cola from a white can.

Trains died for two reasons...

1. Planes are better

2. The railroad companies did not start airlines when they could have to subsidize their own trains.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Gary,

driving an hour to the nearest airport, spending 20 minutes to park the car for $14.00 per day, having to check in over an hour earlier, and being forced to have my genitals strokes by an obese and sweaty TSA drone kind of kills the comparison, don't you agree?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary,

driving an hour to the nearest airport, spending 20 minutes to park the car for $14.00 per day, having to check in over an hour earlier, and being forced to have my genitals strokes by an obese and sweaty TSA drone kind of kills the comparison, don't you agree?

No. I take a cab for $12, no parking fee. Or we get Pasha to drive us for free. I get there in about 9 minutes, dropped off at the door, walk through the door to the check in right inside the door and am at the gate in about 10 minutes.

Then I fly at 540 miles per hour to New York, JFK terminal 5, walk to the Airtrans and for $5 take it to the "A" train which I take for $2.25 to Manhattan and I am there by 9:30 AM. I ate breakfast in Burlington. Lunch in Manhattan. $49. Less than gas, bridge tolls and parking at the airport. MUCH faster than a speeding bullet(train) I can return to Burlington and sleep in my bed that night after having dinner in Manhattan. I usually stay overnght and go home the next day though. Alla and I do that few times per year, great fun.

I would have to be stupid to do what you suggest. I am not stupid and neither are other Americans. That is why trains need subsidies and airplanes don't.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary,

driving an hour to the nearest airport, spending 20 minutes to park the car for $14.00 per day, having to check in over an hour earlier, and being forced to have my genitals strokes by an obese and sweaty TSA drone kind of kills the comparison, don't you agree?

I am going to presume also that you do not have a bullet train picking you upo at the door so you have to drive to the train station which may be farteher away (it is for me), park the car, check in early, yada yada. Even the TSA would horn in in a bullet train. Are you serious?

Incidentally I dropped a friend at the Burlington airport the other day 20 minutes before his filght and he got on board just fine and the plane departed on time.

When making comparisions some things are a "constant" and you need to include that or your calculation is revealed to be as disingenuous as it really is.

Any TRUE comparison begins when you arrive at the station (by whatever means) and begin your journey, by whatever means. We are comparing methods of travel, right? Not methods of getting to the station and what we do with our car while we are gone, right?

If you begin your comparison at the door of your home, then the arrangments for parking and travel to the station have to be included for both.

[mawilson 2,133]

UK Train