While the Obama administration and everyone else (Streetsblog, Infrastructurist, Blueprint America, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and so on) talk up high speed rail and James Howard Kunstler brings us back down to earth, everyone seems to be eager to talk about the success of Amtrak’s Acela Service between New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. No one seems to be talking about Amtrak’s other successful services, particularly the Empire Service trains that shuttle between Albany and New York City.
Believe it or not, but there are reasons to go upstate, because those trains are almost always packed with all types of passengers, from budget-minded families and college students to state officials and business people. It’s worth the $36-69 (fare varies based on how full the train is), or less if you have a discount card like Student Advantage. Not only does the line go along the Hudson and through the picturesque Hudson Valley, but it gets you from city center to city center in 2.5 hours flat. Try doing that in your car - even if you drive at 85 mph on I-89 (that speed is typical for that highway), you still have to negotiate NYC traffic if your destination is in the City or on Long Island.
Amtrak’s Empire Service into New York City is a bargain for the savings in time and hassle and I’m quite upset that it hasn’t garnered more attention. It is the best example of what is right with rail service in America. I could (if I wanted to waste a hour and a half on a bus) take a CDTA bus from RPI’s Student Union to Amtrak’s Albany-Rensselaer train station. Then when I get off at Penn Station, there’s usually an LIRR train to Babylon departing not more than 15 minutes after I arrive. If I’m lucky, I’ve already got my ticket and the train has already arrived in the station from the yard and is in the process of boarding. Then it’s only a quick, luxurious hour out to Wantagh, where I can either walk the 45 minutes to my family’s house, take a bus (if it’s operating), or get one of my parents to pick me up. That’s worth my $36-69 + $9.50 (LIRR) and 3.5 hours of my time (assuming I get a ride to and from train stations). You’d be hard-pressed to find such a transit value anywhere else in the country.
This is also a perfect example of how crappy bus service is in most suburban/rural areas across the nation and how it can often be the deterrent for most people to take advantage of otherwise convenient rail travel… but that’s for another blog post.
Granted, the Acela trainsets have a maximum speed of 165 mph but is limited to 150 by FRA regulations (see: grade level crossings) and limited further by several infrastructural differences in each municipality along its route. It turns out that Acela will actually only save you a few minutes over the ’slower’ and cheaper Northeast Regional service. What you really pay for is Bussiness Class accommodations actually worth the title and First Class accommodations not available anywhere else throughout the Amtrak network. Oh, and have I stressed enough the value of city center to city center travel?
At this point, I’ve racked up enough Amtrak Guest Reward Rail Points to travel one way via Acela First Class…