this post was submitted on 26 May 2024
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Amtrak Borealis launches, connecting Chicago and Twin Cities – NBC Chicago (www.nbcchicago.com)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I am not going to hate on additional service but this feels like a vanity project.

We have delipidated infrastructure that is owned by some geriatrics clowns running it into the ground from their death beds.

Nationalize it and make it high speed. With out this, without these steps, this is just band aid to waste another generation worth of investments so these gereatric clowns' crotch fruit can collect another generation worth of taxpayers' money for doing nothing.

While we waste our lives traffic or 2 hour delays in the airport, cheers poor's!

Peperidge farm remembers east Palestine...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

I got a roomette from Detroit to New Orleans recently and it was delightful. The cafe car was an atrium and I slept like a baby. It obviously cost more than a seat and took a long time but it was a pleasant experience. If I’d flown, I’d have probably just sat in a chair at home.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (6 children)

Ok, but $40 for 7 hours? You can get a 1-hour flight for $129

We really need more high-speed rail

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

i remember talk as far back as the 1980s about high-speed rail between the cities and chicago.

still waiting.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's particularly embarrassing because the Chicago & Northwestern began Twin Cities to Chicago train service in 1935, called "The 400," because the railroad advertised "400 miles in 400 minutes." And they did it with steam.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

That's still only 60mph.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Don't mind the price but the time is long. It will be slightly faster than driving but most of that time is gained going from the Chicago burbs to the city center. Depends on where in Chicago you are going

[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's a 1-hour flight, plus an hour to get to ORD, plus getting there the recommended 2 hours before the flight time to clear security and board, plus baggage claim at MSP. Flying is still faster, but the train is far more chill. High-speed rail would completely beat a plane.

But also, the train makes intermediate stops. I've seen a number of Chicago people on social media excited about taking the Borealis to Wisconsin Dells, and that travel time is pretty comparable.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

You’re not wrong. Plus, the trip on the train is certainly quite scenic.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

/c/fuckplanes

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago (3 children)

If that's a night train, fuck the flight. I'd rather sleep on the train and wake up in a new city for 40$ than drive to the airport for an hour, wait on the plain for 1-2 hours, wait 30 minutes for take off, and then get an uber or something to the city center for another 20$. With a train you show up, sit down, and arrive in the center of the city where I want to be.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

I "slept" on auto train between fla and va. It was not good. The tracks are not straight and the train swings side to side a lot. Couldn't sleep too well at all. It took a long time to wait for all the procedural stuff like unloading the cars. Basically ate up two days instead of driving for one day.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago

I've slept on an Amtrak train before. It wasn't great, you're in a seat the whole way and a lot depends on who you're seated next to, unless you spring for a bed, which substantially increases the cost.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

i can see it being ok for overnight, actually. like, i'm not against the idea, it's just that it services a narrower range of travel needs due to its long duration.

i'm from NYC, so i'm perfectly happy with train travel, but 7 hours is a long-ass trip.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It may serve a narrower range of travel needs, but it's worth noting that the reason that Amtrak added the Borealis train on the Twin Cities-to-Chicago route is the existing high customer demand for that segment on the Empire Builder train.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Look, I know im being critical, but I’m sure it will still have high ridership. If I still lived in Minneapolis, I’m sure I would probably take it.