Vacation Alternative Methods of Transport / a reflective journey
By: Rene Velez July 14th, 2008
This year my family and I took an alternate travel medium for our vacation. Instead of living the jet set life, we took the train. Yes, for those of you who routinely fly and get there in record time this may sound slow, however, I saved on gas and travel expenses and made a “Green” travel. In the process I felt more……..civilized.
Train travel is still considered a method of luxury travel. Names such as the Orient Express, or the Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu are well known examples. There are several in Europe as well. But you need not go to distant places. Amtrak still has places to go and things to do.
When you come to think about it, a typical two and one half hour jet flight, say Miami to New York still is a 5 to 6 hour ordeal when you account for: (a) time to get to the airport, (b) advance check in, (c) extra baggage fees, (d) degrading security check points, (e) taxi and ramp time waiting for takeoff clearance, (f) claiming luggage, (g) travel to your destination.
Rail travel provides coach sleeping, or sleepers. Coach sleeping is basically sleeping in an oversized First Class Airline Seat. Sleepers are in effect small rooms with beds and can accommodate two to four in a given configuration. The sleepers also provide for showers and other amenities. On our trip from Sanford, FL. to Lorton, VA., we dined at night in the dining car. The food was fairly tasty. Much better than at many restaurants. In fact much better than I can ever recall in any first class flight I have ever taken. The dinner even included wine! A continental breakfast was served in the morning. A movie was shown in the lounge cars were you could buy beer and other alcoholic beverages and where snacks, fruits and coffee were offered for free. Yes…for free! In fact all the meals where included as part of the fair. The lounge cars was the place to get into a card game, a board game or simply to hang out and talk. Each coach seat has its own 110V electrical outlet. So bringing your laptop, play station or even charging your phone is no trouble at all. In our case we took the auto train so we even brought along the car, fully packed with all our travel gear. This is a real savings as we need not wait for a taxi or rent a car. In about 20 minutes after we got off the train our car was there waiting for us to be on our way.
I must say I was impressed. The whole mode of travel was fun, less restrictive than air travel. I felt comfortable and I even enjoyed talking to some of my fellow travelers. I haven’t said that about airline travel in quite some time. I was less stressed. I had time to read the paper or even a book if I wished. I could walk the train, go to the lounge cars and look out the window and see the rest of America.
So what did this luxury travel cost me for the four of us inclusive of on board meals, snacks and to bring my car along……$987.00 round trip! I actually felt even better when I started to think the trip I took was more fuel efficient than driving or airline travel. Taking the train is “Green”.
Okay…. Now that I have told you how good all this is what are the down sides. I must admit…if you’re in a hurry this isn’t for you. So airline travel is still safe in that respect. Sanford, FL. to Lorton, VA was a 13 hour ride. You get to sleep though. There were some sections were the view was not that great. Some towns seemed like remnants of the industrial revolution. In a weird way they called upon memories of old times and an economy that is no more. Although not pretty some of these old defunct towns have an artistic beauty all there own. In yet other areas you do see American poverty. Small towns with old wooden homes, or brick buildings in agricultural or industrial settings that depict our neglected sectors of society.
Nonetheless, I am a better man for my travels. The meandering railway together with the faded glory of yester year towns adds to my understanding of changing times, a changed economy, a population that is in need and how America has much to accomplish in the years to come. The slower place of travel added to my vacation as it made me reflect and think of my place in society and how fortunate I am. It also made my feel for my fellow citizens and their struggle to make an existence in a changed economy. Vacations are supposed to give you that time to see things you have missed and my train travel did just that.
This year is an election year and how appropriate that we visited our nations capital. This is a year of change and many Americans have change in their mind. I hope train travel develops further in years to come as a more energy efficient method of transportation. Train travel can be cost effective and affordable to all and green. I also hope many Americans get to see America in the way I saw part of America you otherwise may not see through jet travel. Some of these poor towns simply are not travel destinations and some might well be avoided altogether. It worries me that America, in this year of election will vote for change for the sake of change and not really understand the issues.
When visiting Europe I was impressed with the abundance of train stations, travel destinations and the affordability of train travel. I wondered how America did not follow suit. How can we as a nation have so badly neglected such a mode of transportation vital to many of our people? Why has industry not supported major railways and formed distribution hubs for goods based on a backbone of railways and regional trucking companies?
To some extent train travel, may well be taken for granted for people who live in metropolitan areas with diverse railway systems such as New York or Chicago. But, here in South Florida the railway system leaves much to be desired. With the cost of petro fuels on a sharp increase, perhaps no time is better to start considering these options than now.
I was reading an article that Warren Buffet is buying the rights to Southwestern rail lines. I suspect he is getting very good prices for these lines. Do you suppose he is buying these lines in anticipation of high oil prices? Do you suspect that railway distribution networks can be created to ship goods over long distances and then trucked to remote locations is cheaper and more cost effective than trucking small loads across the United States. At today’s prices, if sustained, I think there is a good bet on that! My guess is what’s old will come again and technology will improve what we once thought of railways.
My train travels have left me thinking of old ideas and old technology in a new way. However, changing political leadership will not create opportunity of itself, changing the way our political leaders think and how we as citizens reward them and how they stay in office will create change for the better. The cards are in our hands as citizens.
By: Rene Velez July 14th, 2008
This year my family and I took an alternate travel medium for our vacation. Instead of living the jet set life, we took the train. Yes, for those of you who routinely fly and get there in record time this may sound slow, however, I saved on gas and travel expenses and made a “Green” travel. In the process I felt more……..civilized.
Train travel is still considered a method of luxury travel. Names such as the Orient Express, or the Hiram Bingham to Machu Picchu are well known examples. There are several in Europe as well. But you need not go to distant places. Amtrak still has places to go and things to do.
When you come to think about it, a typical two and one half hour jet flight, say Miami to New York still is a 5 to 6 hour ordeal when you account for: (a) time to get to the airport, (b) advance check in, (c) extra baggage fees, (d) degrading security check points, (e) taxi and ramp time waiting for takeoff clearance, (f) claiming luggage, (g) travel to your destination.
Rail travel provides coach sleeping, or sleepers. Coach sleeping is basically sleeping in an oversized First Class Airline Seat. Sleepers are in effect small rooms with beds and can accommodate two to four in a given configuration. The sleepers also provide for showers and other amenities. On our trip from Sanford, FL. to Lorton, VA., we dined at night in the dining car. The food was fairly tasty. Much better than at many restaurants. In fact much better than I can ever recall in any first class flight I have ever taken. The dinner even included wine! A continental breakfast was served in the morning. A movie was shown in the lounge cars were you could buy beer and other alcoholic beverages and where snacks, fruits and coffee were offered for free. Yes…for free! In fact all the meals where included as part of the fair. The lounge cars was the place to get into a card game, a board game or simply to hang out and talk. Each coach seat has its own 110V electrical outlet. So bringing your laptop, play station or even charging your phone is no trouble at all. In our case we took the auto train so we even brought along the car, fully packed with all our travel gear. This is a real savings as we need not wait for a taxi or rent a car. In about 20 minutes after we got off the train our car was there waiting for us to be on our way.
I must say I was impressed. The whole mode of travel was fun, less restrictive than air travel. I felt comfortable and I even enjoyed talking to some of my fellow travelers. I haven’t said that about airline travel in quite some time. I was less stressed. I had time to read the paper or even a book if I wished. I could walk the train, go to the lounge cars and look out the window and see the rest of America.
So what did this luxury travel cost me for the four of us inclusive of on board meals, snacks and to bring my car along……$987.00 round trip! I actually felt even better when I started to think the trip I took was more fuel efficient than driving or airline travel. Taking the train is “Green”.
Okay…. Now that I have told you how good all this is what are the down sides. I must admit…if you’re in a hurry this isn’t for you. So airline travel is still safe in that respect. Sanford, FL. to Lorton, VA was a 13 hour ride. You get to sleep though. There were some sections were the view was not that great. Some towns seemed like remnants of the industrial revolution. In a weird way they called upon memories of old times and an economy that is no more. Although not pretty some of these old defunct towns have an artistic beauty all there own. In yet other areas you do see American poverty. Small towns with old wooden homes, or brick buildings in agricultural or industrial settings that depict our neglected sectors of society.
Nonetheless, I am a better man for my travels. The meandering railway together with the faded glory of yester year towns adds to my understanding of changing times, a changed economy, a population that is in need and how America has much to accomplish in the years to come. The slower place of travel added to my vacation as it made me reflect and think of my place in society and how fortunate I am. It also made my feel for my fellow citizens and their struggle to make an existence in a changed economy. Vacations are supposed to give you that time to see things you have missed and my train travel did just that.
This year is an election year and how appropriate that we visited our nations capital. This is a year of change and many Americans have change in their mind. I hope train travel develops further in years to come as a more energy efficient method of transportation. Train travel can be cost effective and affordable to all and green. I also hope many Americans get to see America in the way I saw part of America you otherwise may not see through jet travel. Some of these poor towns simply are not travel destinations and some might well be avoided altogether. It worries me that America, in this year of election will vote for change for the sake of change and not really understand the issues.
When visiting Europe I was impressed with the abundance of train stations, travel destinations and the affordability of train travel. I wondered how America did not follow suit. How can we as a nation have so badly neglected such a mode of transportation vital to many of our people? Why has industry not supported major railways and formed distribution hubs for goods based on a backbone of railways and regional trucking companies?
To some extent train travel, may well be taken for granted for people who live in metropolitan areas with diverse railway systems such as New York or Chicago. But, here in South Florida the railway system leaves much to be desired. With the cost of petro fuels on a sharp increase, perhaps no time is better to start considering these options than now.
I was reading an article that Warren Buffet is buying the rights to Southwestern rail lines. I suspect he is getting very good prices for these lines. Do you suppose he is buying these lines in anticipation of high oil prices? Do you suspect that railway distribution networks can be created to ship goods over long distances and then trucked to remote locations is cheaper and more cost effective than trucking small loads across the United States. At today’s prices, if sustained, I think there is a good bet on that! My guess is what’s old will come again and technology will improve what we once thought of railways.
My train travels have left me thinking of old ideas and old technology in a new way. However, changing political leadership will not create opportunity of itself, changing the way our political leaders think and how we as citizens reward them and how they stay in office will create change for the better. The cards are in our hands as citizens.
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