Amtrak trains travel through Washington, DC on September 15, 2022.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
As domestic travel recovers from pandemic lows and prices soar, some travelers are choosing rail over planes.
For many, the compromises are simple: trains are often cheaper, offer more legroom and are more environmentally friendly than air travel. These and other benefits are driving riders to Amtrak, the government-backed U.S. railroad that is trying to revive pre-coronavirus ridership and make operations smoother.
Since the pandemic emerged, airline ticket prices have skyrocketed as travel demand has surged. In addition, uncertainty in the aviation industry has increased in part because of high-profile incidents, such as one that made headlines earlier this year when part of an Alaska Airlines plane exploded mid-flight and loose hardware was discovered on Boeing 737 Max 9 -Aircraft in the fleets of several airlines.
Although train routes often take longer than flight times, the total travel time usually evens out when you take into account airport traffic, time in security lines and boarding wait times, according to Clint Henderson, editor-in-chief of travel site The Points Guy.
“We’ve done speed tests and measured how long it takes to travel between cities like New York and DC by train versus by plane, and while the flight is very short, it generally takes about the same amount of time,” he said.
Trains will likely never eliminate the need for flying, but Henderson said he has seen an increase across the travel industry in the number of people choosing Amtrak trains over flights, particularly in the Northeast Corridor, where flights between two nearby cities are not available are possible. That doesn’t always make sense.
One of those passengers is Leonor Grave, who lives in New York City and often travels home to Washington, D.C. on Amtrak trains instead of planes. Grave said she particularly likes that train stations are typically located in city centers, as opposed to airports, which are often on the outskirts of cities.
“If trains were faster and reached more destinations, I don’t think I would ever fly domestically,” Grave said. “It’s such a seamless way to travel… and I just find it much more pleasant on the train – you can stand up, walk around, stretch your legs, you can go to the food cart. You feel much more grounded.”
Grave said she was even able to take her bike on the train and arrive at New York’s Penn Station just 20 minutes before the train’s departure, instead of having to arrive at the airport two hours early as usual. While she has experienced some delays on Amtrak trains, particularly after the pandemic, she said they are negligible compared to flight delays and cancellations that have plagued the air travel industry recently.
“I’m not glorifying Amtrak as a company — there’s a lot they could do to improve their service,” Grave said. “Even though Amtrak isn’t perfect, I think it’s the best option from what we have. The more rail competes with flying and the more people take the train, the better we can develop these train routes and connect different places around the world.” Rest of the country. It’s an exciting future for train travel.
Reasons for the train
American trains, for example, still cannot match the high-speed networks of Europe or Japan. (Although Amtrak’s Acela trains can reach speeds of 150 miles per hour on sections of the route.)
Still, the option is becoming more attractive to some travelers as the dynamics of travel change.
Chiara Dorsi, 22, booked a 19-hour Amtrak ride from Chicago to New Orleans this month instead of taking a flight. The train ticket saves her the trouble of dealing with baggage limits and going through security. It also saved her almost $400 and allowed her to work while driving.
“The price was just astronomically different,” she said. “And I work remotely and Amtrak has Wi-Fi, so the time I waste on the train isn’t really wasted because I can do my job from anywhere.”
Dorsi also said she tends to gravitate towards trains because of the environmental benefits.
According to the International Air Transport Association, air travel accounts for about 2% of global CO2 emissions. According to Aaron McCall, federal advocacy coordinator at California Environmental Voters, the impact of travel is significantly reduced when replaced with train travel.
Whenever there is shared travel, emissions inevitably have to be reduced, said McCall.
“We are seeing a decline in greenhouse gas emissions across the board, and the reason we are seeing this decline is directly related to investments in green technology and public transportation,” he said.
McCall said he’s seen even more people riding Amtrak trains lately in California, where public transit lags well behind the East Coast’s robust networks.
The number of passengers returns with delays
Amtrak reported total ridership of over 28 million in 2023, a 24% increase from the previous year — but still a significant decline from its pre-pandemic ridership total of over 32 million in 2019.
The company saw a particular boost in its ridership and revenue along the Northeast Corridor — which stretches from Washington, D.C. to Boston — with a year-over-year increase of more than 22%, according to a November report.
However, according to a 2022 report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, train on-time performance has suffered since the pandemic. In 2019, Amtrak operations had an overall on-time performance of 75% on a weighted basis, according to BTS. In 2020 and 2021, as ridership declined, on-time performance improved to 80% and 78%, respectively.
As of 2022, according to the latest data included in the report, overall delays rose again and on-time performance fell to 74%, the report said. Many of those disruptions were due to problems with host trains and not Amtrak’s fault, but the company said it remains committed to finding ways to reduce disruptions.
“Across the Amtrak national network, we work around the clock to ensure reliable service and safety during inclement weather,” Amtrak told CNBC. “We have a dedicated team that monitors weather conditions and assesses the condition of the railway and associated infrastructure in real time.”
Amtrak has also been expanding its longer routes, helped by new funding from the White House to modernize trains and expand infrastructure between cities. To double ridership by 2040, the company is investing more than $5 million in a program to improve stations, tunnels and bridges.
According to The Points Guy’s Henderson, these upgrades will be the key “game changer” in revolutionizing train travel – even if the timeline seems long.
“They’re reinforcing the trackbeds in some places, rebuilding bridges, and these trains will be able to go faster,” Henderson said. “Once these come out, it’s going to be exciting… I just want to ask people to be patient because it’s going to take a while for these things to become a full-scale reality.”
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2024-02-11 13:00:01
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