Taking the Train versus a Plane

[Priran]

most trains do not have wi-fi (acela trains do, as well as some amtrak cafe cars, but they're usually packed with yuppies) and due to the combination of cabin lights and the tracks going through the middle of nowhere, you will not be able to see a fucking thing looking out the window once the sun sets. bring a laptop (with a movie), a DS, a PSP, or something.

Bring some Dramamine and take the train. Very very long train rides can be disorienting due to the constant sway of the train.

pussy

[SamanosukeShiva]

Bring some Dramamine and take the train. Very very long train rides can be disorienting due to the constant sway of the train.

this, dunno about you but i get motion sickness easily if im not looking out the window constantly.

[Nightplague]

In sweden, train tickets are fucking expensive, and you'll get a two-way ticket for the flight for about the same cost as a single-trip on rail. Also, if traveling wintertime it's totally unreliable due to snow. Trains cramped, no food and nothing but trees if you look outside.

So yeah, I'm biased

[saracrow]

I think you're going the wrong way.

Also, theres panhandlers at every train station i've ever been at. Also is there no parking garage at the Seattle train station? And OP would be leaving her car in Nova Scotia Canadia, I doubt they would have problems with urban youths stealing their ride.

I typically don't trust over night parking in general, even more so in the Seattle / Tacoma area. Perhaps it's my general distrust of most people, or the needle swap program that the city has... but I'd rather trust my car in my garage then unattended in a parking garage. After all that factory cassette player / CD combo probably goes for tens of pennies at the junk yard.

But on subject, the trains can be a nice ride. It's all perspective from what you want out of it. Amtrak sells alcoholic beverages, and I've also seen people byob.

The route I've been on, and from what I've heard tend to travel through some really scenic landscapes that you would never see on a plane. Just for that, it's worth doing at least once.

And kudos for the wrong way comment ^^. That is still the /lsmes in my linkshell after all this time (well at least until the server merger takes it away).

[Arvin]

I take the Hiawatha line from Milwaukee to Chicago pretty regularly and really enjoy it. It is a short run though, so I'm not sure how it compares to the OP of plane or train.

But I sure as hell know it beats driving downtown Chicago and paying for parking. I think that has a lot to do with my enjoyment of the train ride.

Edit: Oh yeah, and I've never been delayed (generally early arrivals) on that run and the fact that I can show up 5 minutes before the scheduled departure and still find a good seat is awesome.

have you ever taken the metra? i've taken it from chicago to kenosha a few times. lot's of shady individuals on the metra, rofl.

[aduidarnenye]

I think you're going the wrong way.

Also, theres panhandlers at every train station i've ever been at. Also is there no parking garage at the Seattle train station? And OP would be leaving her car in Nova Scotia Canadia, I doubt they would have problems with urban youths stealing their ride.

No worry there, there is a bus from our apartment building to the train station in downtown Halifax.

There are lots of homeless teens around where the train station is, but since not taking car no big worry. We have urban youths too!

What website did you go to, since you said you thought it was wrong.

I used Expedia to find the plane fare and the VIA Rail site for the train fare. The thing with plane tickets is that the price changes from day to day, sometimes hour to hour.


I think train is really winning out. I love trains. I've traveled throughout Europe on trains and my husband and I did Japan by train (which is awesome by the way and the best way to see Japan I think).

The train was really hinging on whether or not I could get the extra time off from work and I managed that today! Two weeks of holiday for me in the spring instead of just one.

[toonces]

adui, try www.kayak.com for your plane fairs, is a unified search engine, tend to get better prices and times vs just doing expedia or orbitz by itself.

but i don't want to advocate the plane, do the train. was just a tip for the future not this trip

[toonces]

Just stumble upon this today

http://www.viarail.ca/en/winter-fares/maritimes

[Ace-o-fire]

What was the reason for the delay? I travel a lot for work (2-3 times/month), and I really only get delays when flying into Newark. If I hit up any other airport (smaller or larger) I never have problems.

Worst delay ever was a few years ago when the entire northeast was without power. 23 hour delay with people actually sleeping outside of La Guardia b/c we were so fucking crammed in to that place lol.

I try and fly out of Stewart (SWF) as much as possible now. You almost always have to transfer, but the airport is 15 minutes from my house lol. It's also so damn small you can get through security in 10 minutes tops, even at the busiest of times.

big storm over the east coast on Friday Saturday and Sunday so rather then going around the storm and coming at it from behind they deiced to delay it over and over and over.

[isladar]

Per the OP: I've taken that particular train (though only on the Montreal-Rimouski leg), and it's gorgeous. Going all the way from Halifax through the Gaspé would be incredible. I heart trains something fierce; they're the only moving vehicle I can read in, and I've always enjoyed the company. Usually the people who're taking trains are pretty interesting.