Poll: Would you consider taking Amtrak on a trip for business or pleasure in the next year? / LJWorld.com

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Response		Percent	Votes
Yes.		78%	962
No.		15%	195
Not sure.		6%	74
Total	1231

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labmonkey (anonymous) says…

Depends on if they get better routes. When I was dating my now wife, I was driving to Lincoln every other weekend. I looked into Amtrak, and the only way from Lawrence to Lincoln was to go to California, then to Washington, then to Minnesota, then finally to Lincoln. There is no way I would do that (33 hrs) when I can drive there in less than 4 hours.
January 3, 2009 at 8:56 a.m.
topekan7 (anonymous) says…

Amtrak sucks. The trains are antiquated, smell terribly, and are uncomfortable. Freight trains are given priority on all their routes. The KC to St. Louis run is a nightmare with delays commonplace.
January 3, 2009 at 9:26 a.m.
notajayhawk (anonymous) says…

There are plenty of people who can - or for some reason or another must - take the train. But for the vast majority of us, at least with Amtrak in its current form and condition, the train just isn't practical. It simply can not match the covenience of automobile travel or the speed of air travel (in many cases it can't even match the speed of automobile travel), and it's typically a lot more expensive than either of the other options.We had considered a two- or three-day trip to St Louis by train. My wife doesn't drive, so she'd have to rely on taxis or public transit while I'm occupied with business anyway. But now, with an infant to deal with in addition to the six-year-old, there's no way in heck I'd consider it.Trains work well in very densely populated areas (like the Boston-DC corridor), with already-saturated roads and air routes, demand high enough to support frequent departure and arrival times, and dependable public transportation at your destination. None of those conditions apply anywhere around here.
January 3, 2009 at 9:53 a.m.
Boeing (anonymous) says…

In the next year? No, because nothing will change in the next year. I grew up near San Bernardino, and have lots of family in Naperville, both along the exact same line that goes through Lawrence, yet I have never seriously considered taking the train. I would like to, but it's not worth it.
January 3, 2009 at 9:56 a.m.
canyon_wren (anonymous) says…

topekan7--either you have just ridden the KC to St. Louis train (I haven't, so can't pass judgment on that part of your comment) or you haven't ridden for a long time. I have taken Amtrak from out here in Utah close to a dozen times in the past 6-8 years and enjoyed it tremendously. It didn't "smell terribly" and the food was good (considering it wasn't prepared on board)--the employees all very nice. I would love to just go over the country on Amtrak.It IS unhandy that the freight trains own the tracks and that causes some delay, but, at least here in the West that has changed since they have improved the tracks. In October, we were actually 45 minutes EARLY getting from Reno to Elko, NV, quite early pulling into Salt Lake City, and right on time getting into Green River, Utah, which was amazing, and I hear stories about the improvment along those lines often now.
January 3, 2009 at 9:58 a.m.
XEPCT (anonymous) says…

I'm about to hop on a train right now!!! But, I live in Europe...
January 3, 2009 at 11:39 a.m.
TheStig (anonymous) says…

Sure if I have plenty of extra time, don't mind paying more, have someone to pick me up at the station, don't mind prepaying for meals and eating at a table of strangers that I don't know if I will like, or have the desire to reread Atlas Shrugged while rolling along on rails hearing "clickity-click." On second thought I'd rather fly/drive.
January 3, 2009 at 12:19 p.m.
persevering_gal (anonymous) says…

I have actually been looking at booking a trip on the Amtrak this past week, but like labmonkey stated, the routes are not all that great. While the Amtrak may take longer than flying, the legroom is better, the seats are better (come with recliners), and the upgrades to a private bedroom are a great idea if taking longer trips and need an outlet for your laptop or other electronics. The Amtrak spares me from having to deal with lost luggage and all of that other fun stuff you have to deal with at the airport.
January 3, 2009 at 12:33 p.m.
tangential_reasoners_anonymous (anonymous) says…

"Would you consider taking Amtrak on a trip for business or pleasure in the next year?"Not really. Amtrak is such a poor travel companion... and all that baggage....( Ask me again next year, puddin' tame. )
January 3, 2009 at 12:50 p.m.
grammaddy (anonymous) says…

I'd love it. As a child,(back in the dark ages) we used to take the train or bus to K.C.MO. every other weekend to stay with my grand mother. We lived in Topeka back then and considered the train quite an adventure.
January 3, 2009 at 1:32 p.m.
Newell_Post (anonymous) says…

Pleasure maybe; business no. (My father and grandfather worked for the Union Pacific. I even worked there summers during college. I kind of like trains.)Some years ago, I worked in downtown St. Louis within walking distance of the Amtrak station. We had a project within walking distance of the Amtrak station in Independence. At that time TWA had a monopoly on air service at $550/round trip.We thought, hey let's take the train! We will save money and we can do some work or relax while in route instead of driving. After sitting on the tracks in the middle of Missouri for 10 hours while they cleared the tracks of problem and we missed our meeting, we never did that again. If several of us were going to Independence, we chartered private planes.
January 3, 2009 at 1:48 p.m.
sweetd (anonymous) says…

Of course I would consider it! My husband and I just got back from a trip up to Michigan on Amtrak. Sure, our train got a late start, there was an accident on the tracks, but that can't be helped. Amtrak went out of their way to make everyone who was delayed satisfied, which is more then I can say for airlines. It cost half as much as the airlines did for 2 people, plus much roomier seats. We figured, sure we could drive up there, but why bother when someone can take us up for about the same amount of time as it would take us to drive (well actually quicker considering all of the bad winter weather there at the moment). I found the trains to be plenty up to date - most even had an electrical outlet near your seat for laptop plug-ins.
January 3, 2009 at 3:10 p.m.
Jean1183 (anonymous) says…

NO! I wanted to do a pleasure trip and take my granddaughter just for the experience, but when I checked the prices I changed my mind (especially for a sleeping car).
January 3, 2009 at 4:18 p.m.
maxcrabb (anonymous) says…

I took a train to St. Louis 6 years ago. The diner car smelled like the outhouses at Wakarusa.I would like to walk through a train before I ever commit to riding on one again.
January 3, 2009 at 6:18 p.m.
canyon_wren (anonymous) says…

If, when you get on the train, you ask if there is an "economy bedroom" available--and there is--you can get it a lot cheaper than buying it with your ticket. Also, if your schedule is not "fixed," sometimes you can get a sleeper more reasonably a day later or earlier. I don't know the reason (other than "demand") but by shifting my travel schedule, I got a sleeper from Reno to Green River for $124--on a different day, they quoted me something like $325. The sleeper is definitely worth it if you can afford it, as you get all your dining car meals free (except for alcoholic beverages)and they have coffee for you first thing in the morning, etc. And sleeping in a bed on the train is delightful!
January 3, 2009 at 7:57 p.m.
none2 (anonymous) says…

They need to fire a good chunk of the Amtrak staff -- both the ones that answer the phones as well as those on the train. They need to be replaced with people who have worked for the airline industry. People who work for Amtrak tend to have a smug attitude -- perhaps because the government props up their job. Airline employees tend to go out of their way to help you. I cannot say it is a union issue as both industries have unions.Likewise, Amtrak needs to realize that it isn't quite the same as an airline. A seat doesn't need to be reserved for the entire route -- only from the point where that particular person is getting on and then getting off. I remember one of my trips where I got on in Dodge City. They made me sit in a car with all the lights on and next to another guy who just got on. Did they think we were going to read the newspaper and chat with each other from 1am to 6am? One car in front was practically empty, lights off, and with a few people that were there sleeping across both seats. I move up there, and they got all bent out of shape. Where they expecting 40 or so people to get on in Hutchinson, Newton, and Topeka that all had seats reserved on that car? I would also add that the majority of my issues on various round trips were with the east bound train. Both directions go through Kansas during the middle of the night. Why the staff on the east bound train tend to be staffed by drill sergeants I have no idea.
January 3, 2009 at 9:50 p.m.
none2 (anonymous) says…

hawkperchedatriverfront (Anonymous) says…"But the scheduliing leaves way too much to be desired. Why go to Omaha to go to Denver. Why not go to Albuquerque and have a train go north to Denver?"===========================That doesn't make any sense. They already have a bus that connects the Southwest Chief to the California Zephyr (Denver is on that route). You get off in Trinidad, Colorado. The bus goes from there to Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and finally Denver. To go even further south to Albuquerque and then go north to Denver makes absolutely no sense. That would be like saying lets go to Tulsa to get to Chicago. As to being a bus instead of a train, if it was cost effective, they would have done that. Amtrak switches to buses when the volumes just aren't there. A perfect example of that is Provo, Utah to Las Vegas and on to Barstow, California. That used to be a train (Desert Wind). It was discontinued in 1997. Now you can go that route, but it is by bus.--------------------------------------------------------------"Again, Lawrence needs to promote itself as a destination city to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Winslow , AZ, route 66 stops, all kinds of possiblilities, chartered rail cars departing from Lawrence with first class dining service, the same kind of trips that made Maupintour famous. aren't there any travel entrepreneurs in Lawrence anymore?"===========================What is there to advertise? It is no secret that Amtrak goes through Lawrence and goes through those areas in the south west on the way to LA. However, how many people really want to get on a train at 12:30 to 1am in the morning? It has to be that time unless you would rather they go through the Grand Canyon during the night. It also is a hindrance that the Lawrence train station really has nothing there. I don't even remember if they even bother to open it up anymore. They definitely didn't even have someone there the last time I was inside it. I also don't know why anybody would want to "charter" a car. The Southwest Chief has plenty of seats available. Of course, I don't know about how full their sleeper cars are. I would also add that the only time the Chief is busy is when the boy scouts are using it to get to their camp in New Mexico in the summer time.
January 3, 2009 at 10:19 p.m.
topekan7 (anonymous) says…

In January, 2008 I rode Amtrak from KC to St. Louis (Kirkwood). The train left KC at 4:00pm. The train didn't arrive at the Kirkwood station until 1:50am...nearly 5 hours late. We sat on the track just east of Jefferson City for over 4 hours...due to a problem with a freight train ahead of us. The conductor told me this was not uncommon and he'd experienced trips where they didn't arrive in St. Louis before dawn. I could've driven to St. Louis and back in the time I sat on that train. The train stunk like an outhouse, the food was terrible, and some jerk spoke on his phone loudly the entire trip even though the conductor told the passengers that cell phone use was to be only at a minimum in the coach. The employees on the train were, in my opinion, lazy and not interested in the welfare of the passengers. My return trip was only 90 mins late and I was grateful. I used to ride this train regularly when I was in college back in the 80's. I'll never ride it again.
January 3, 2009 at 11:22 p.m.
denak (anonymous) says…

I would consider it if it wasn't so slow. A few years ago, we took Amtrak to San Antonio and we had a sleeper car. It took forever but overall, it was fun.So, when we were going to go to Cleveland last June, I looked into Amtrak and the tickets were just as much as the tickets for the plane. I actually got a better deal on plane and hotel reservations with Priceline than I would have with using Amtrak.Make it faster and a little cheaper and I would consider it because my son loved it when we went to San Antonio.Dena
January 4, 2009 at 3:54 a.m.
jocknavals (anonymous) says…

i lived for a number of years with amtrak service just a short walk away...rail service can work in rural areas...i always found the trains neat, clean and pleasant...the big problem is, the freight train companies own the tracks, and their freights get priority on the lines, hence the amtrak trains can fall way behind schedule...actually at times it's as if there is no schedule...this is an impossible way to run a passenger line...what the feds should do is remind the railroads that they were built with huge federal subsidies, and that payback is amtrak trains first in line. how big a difference can it make if a car load of wheat is 12 hrs 'late' getting to someplace?
January 4, 2009 at 10:23 a.m.
xbusguy (chris Ogle) says…

Yes. Just to get away the Lawrence political Bull$$$$.
January 4, 2009 at 10:34 a.m.
BABBOY (anonymous) says…

The train is joke. They people running the trains are too stupid to take advantage of the high gas prices or the economy. They could draw some business with the way things were going, but it will not happen because it such a joke. I would only consider it if they upgraded the system to where it was on time and fast (like the bullet trains) -- but with all lobbying groups from from established enities in place -- a bullet train is never going to happen.
January 4, 2009 at 11:50 a.m.
conservativepunker (anonymous) says…

I took Amtrak from NYC to KC when I lived in the Apple. It was actually a very relaxing trip. Sleep when you want, read when you want, beautiful scenery, seeing small towns one wouldn't otherwise. Not a bad experience at all.
January 4, 2009 at 12:42 p.m.
sampierron (anonymous) says…

A buddy and I took the SW Chief back to Lawrence from LA six weeks ago. We both like to play board and card games, so it was a more-or-less-ideal kind of break from our routines to just get to do that for a few days. We went in the observation car for hours at a time, stretched out and had plenty of room for gaming. Good stuff.The food was fine. Not great, but fine. Better than any airline meal I've ever had other than the one time I was fortunate enough to do trans-Atlantic business class. The people at our table were always friendly.We shared one of the "roomettes", and it was fine. I would say, though, that I had a really hard time sleeping on the top bunk.The best part was the staff. The SW Chief probably gets assigned better staff than the Missouri route, but I could never ask for more friendly, helpful, gracious personnel than we dealt with on board.
January 5, 2009 at 12:38 a.m.
ClaroAtaxia (anonymous) says…

Can anyone tell me why the *&$^ Amtrak doesn't have a train going from KC to Denver? With Colorado's Ski Train going from Denver back into the resorts, I would think that would be there most popular night train out of KC. I could have sworn the cattle trade was at one point huge between the two cities. kc to denver please!!!!
January 5, 2009 at 9:48 a.m.
none2 (anonymous) says…

babboy (Anonymous) says…"...I would only consider it if they upgraded the system to where it was on time and fast (like the bullet trains) — but with all lobbying groups from from established enities in place — a bullet train is never going to happen."==========================It has nothing to do with lobbying groups. It has everything to do with land mass and population density. We don't live in a densely populated urban corridor. Common sense would tell you not to put a bullet train here until fuel is so high that there is no cheaper alternative.
January 5, 2009 at 10:51 p.m.
none2 (anonymous) says…

jocknavals (Anonymous) says…"...amtrak trains can fall way behind schedule…actually at times it's as if there is no schedule…this is an impossible way to run a passenger line…what the feds should do is remind the railroads that they were built with huge federal subsidies, and that payback is amtrak trains first in line..."====================Someone once told me that trains used to be much more on time when the Post Office relied on them to transport mail. That once they switched to trucks, the trains had less pressure to be punctual. I don't know if it is true or not, but that is what I was told.
January 5, 2009 at 10:56 p.m.
canyon_wren (anonymous) says…

none2--what you say may be right. It is probably not the only reason (the fact that the freight trains own the tracks has to be the main one) but probably plays a role.I have spent the last 40+ years of my life in the Intermountain West, with some family in Douglas and Franklin Counties, and it used to be that we could take the Union Pacific easily to Lawrence. It is so discouraging to not be able "to get there from here," as the saying goes. A while back, I went to Omaha on the Zephyr and they DID provide a bus to KC--but that is not the case anymore. It does seem pretty bizarre that there ISN'T a train from Denver to KC.
January 6, 2009 at 7 a.m.
canyon_wren (anonymous) says…

sampierron, your experience describes my many trips. It is probably true that the main trains out West--the Chief, from LA to Chicago, and the California Zephyr, from San Francisco (Oakland, really) to Chicago--have staff and services superior to the shorter runs, like from KC to St. Louis. A couple of years ago, I took an extended trip--to Chicago, then caught the Empire Builder at Winona, MN and rode clear to Portland, then caught the Coast Starlight down to Salinas, CA. The only one that was a bit "shabby"--both in car maintenance and service-- was the Coast Starlight. Everthing else was topnotch. Most of the travelers I visited with were doing it for pleasure. It was a lot cheaper than flying, but not practical if you are in a hurry.One thing I really recommend is that you take an Atlas with you--it comes in handy. On my long trip, I copied pages from a Rand McNally atlas for the areas I would travel over and was the envy of folks in the "sightseeing car" (it used to be called the "dome car" but has a fancier name now, that I forget).
January 6, 2009 at 7:09 a.m.