Why Amtrak Is So Expensive | So Expensive
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- čas přidán 4. 03. 2019
- Amtrak has been operating since 1971. With high ticket costs, Amtrak has become a less viable mode of transportation. It has had a long history of financial instability since its formation.
Following is a transcript of the video:
Narrator: Amtrak is the only passenger railroad service that operates throughout the continental US. With about 500 destinations, the service has been operating since 1971. But with high ticket costs, Amtrak is becoming a less viable mode of transportation. In fact, it's often more expensive to take an Amtrak train from New York City to Boston than to fly. Why does the US, a country that created billionaire railroad tycoons, have such an expensive and inefficient train system?
Amtrak has had a long history of financial instability since its formation. Passenger trains used to be owned by private companies that operated freight trains. At the start of the 20th century, nearly 42 million passengers traveled by rail as their primary mode of transportation. However, by the 1940s, railroads began to become less popular as buses, planes, and cars grew in popularity. And by the 1960s, many railways, such as Penn Central and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, all discontinued most of their trains.
Passenger trains were no longer profitable, especially when the US Post Office began shipping mail by truck and air. In an attempt to rescue the service, then-president Nixon signed a law in 1970 that ensured government funding. This act created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, which eventually became Amtrak. Of the 26 railroads offering passenger service, six declined to join Amtrak.
Although the railroad service continued, its problems with ridership and financial instability remained. Amtrak competed with other railway companies for train stations and tracks. On its first day of service, passenger trains had to be rerouted from seven train terminals in Chicago into just one. Amtrak also had to pay and maintain multiple train stations in one city due to the lack of track connections.
Throughout the early 2000s, the US government attempted to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient by trying to increase ridership and implement the Acela Express, which runs at a maximum speed of 150 mph. But their plans failed, as Amtrak still had a large sum of debt from years of underfunding. To this day, trains still have a low profit margin and rely heavily on subsidies to operate.
According to the company's 2017 fiscal year report, Amtrak had a total revenue of $3.3 billion. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to make Amtrak profitable. It still had a total operating loss of $194 million. Many of the lines don't make any money or are operated at a loss. To accommodate the money-losing routes, Amtrak uses profits from its popular lines, such as the Northeast Corridor. Since this is one of the most popular routes, Amtrak can charge higher prices and send those profits to other, less profitable lines.
Additionally, the USA is a very big country. It's the fourth-largest country, with about 3.8 million square miles of land. In comparison to Japan, which is smaller than the state of California, the US requires a lot more rail to cover its land. Amtrak trains run on 21,400 miles of track, and only owns about 630 miles of it.
For example, between New Rochelle and New Haven on the Boston-New York route, the tracks are owned and operated by Metro-North Railroad. This means Amtrak needs to pay Metro-North Railroad to run their trains over these tracks, which adds extra costs to passengers' tickets.
According to Amtrak's company profile, it operated approximately 300 trains a day in 2017. In comparison, SNCF, the French National Railway Company, operated 14,000 trains daily. That's 47 times more trains, serving a nation that has one-quarter of the population of the United States. France is also even smaller than the size of Texas.
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Why Amtrak Is So Expensive | So Expensive - Auta a dopravní prostředky
It's sad that Amtrak receives so much hate, they're trying their best with the little they have. I have taken many Amtrak trips and while they are slower, they are far more exciting and relaxing to take. Plus it allows people to see parts of the country that cant be seen by roads or planes. Amtrak will always have my full support and ridership
The company is VERY inefficient.. they lose money microwaving a hamburger for $10. Why? No idea.. but the body count and thus payroll are the big issues... Airline? Get 3 round trips from boston to DC in a day with the same crew.. Amtrak? 1 crew3= and 2 days...for ONE round trip. In other words 6x as expensive for crew costs on one trip. Throw in the train having more humans in the crew, and you have a significant issue. Sure.. it is more expensive..
@@Billblom That's because it is government run. If the government had simply paid the railroads to continue passenger service, quality and efficiency would have been much better.
It's not really exciting and relaxing. You can't stop wherever you want and are stuck with the boring scenery and expensive food.
I agree. Amtrak is tight
@@Billblom You have absolutely no idea what your talking about do you? Yes a train requires more crew, but it also carries way more passengers than a standard 737. Also, a train makes many stops in a one way trip, a plane has one destination. This means people get on and get off as the train goes, so along a line there is a constant increase in the revenue as more people get on the train. Even express trains have several stops.
I have travelled thousands of miles on Amtrak. I find it very relaxing and enjoyable. The scenery is stunning on many routes, you get to unplug, and you get to just relax. However, it takes an open minded person to enjoy these things..
The closest Amtrak station to me is 20 minutes away. My grandparents who live 3hrs away, in the same state have a station in their city. If I wanted to take a trip to visit them by train I would have to take a train to Virginia (2 states away) and get on a train to go to their city, because the lines within my state aren't even connected. All of this would need to happen in the middle of the night, because the train stations in my state operate almost exclusively after 12am. All of this nonsense would cost about $200. I love traveling by train and I wish it was actually feasible but it's just plain ridiculous.
@@rootsmudge That’s totally fair, Amtrak does not have great connectivity and I really hope they’re able to improve that.
This is not a very fair or balanced picture of Amtrak's solvency. When Amtrak was formed from the dead and dying 'predecessor railroads' it inherited billions in debt, delapidated equipment and an equipment plant (track, bridges, stations, etc) which was in seriously critical and near total disrepair as to be barely functional.
All of this owing to a complex confluence of circumstances ranging from the aftermath of overwhelming competition between railroads; declining ridership due to increasing reliance on other forms of transportation; decline in freight and mail service due to the rise of trucking and interstate highways; decades and decades of 'deferred maintenance' begun at the outset of WWI and continuing through and beyond WWII, and extending into the deep economic doldrums of the 1970's; and then finally saddled with the insurmountable burden of having to pay for the pensions and payouts of the predecessor railroads--Amtrak was practically doomed from the start.
The story here isn't how badly Amtrak has botched it up, but rather how incredibly well they've managed to hold it together under such long and impossible odds.
Amtrak is in every way a little understood success story when you peel back the layers leading up to its formation, the near total lack of support from Congress and the sheer insanity of the mission they were tasked with performing. IMO, the correct response from the rest of us ought to be a long slow clap leading to an impossibly loud and roaring standing ovation.
Here are a couple of good (and long) links to its history, it's mission and a chronicling of its myriad trials and tribulations leading up to the present day. Amtrak us an incredible United States success story in spite of its many, many burdens and obstacles which have long threatened to lay it down.
www.american-rails.com/amtrak.html
www.american-rails.com/amtrak.html
Amen!
John Whitten beautifully written comment. This is easily the best comment I have seen all day.
Finally, someone who knows what really happened.
that is a good point. It was not just passenger rail service that was in decline but the Entire rail network was in steep decline. This was heavily revitalized in the 80's and 90's due to Government deregulation that allowed railroads to begin to flourish again since it allowed mergers and consolidations of the Railroad Companies.
@Craig F. Thompson well at least you did not go on your normal insane rant about the freeway being a "Nazi invention"
comparing Japan to the US is insane- Japan has less surface area than California.
At least with the train I can bring 4 carry ons! And no one is going to drag me off because it’s too full
Star Cherry at least with a plane it won’t take me years to get there!
Y Tho Unless you are on a business trip and need go get there by a certain time, a train isnt a bad option.
A day or two more isnt a big deal unless you have the patience of a fly.
Plus, they have beds.
So yeah, Generally ‘better’
Low bar
There's a reason it's never full.
BUT THEY'RE ALWAYS LATE OUTSIDE THE NORTH EAST. As long as you don't have to be at work the day after your scheduled arrival you're good.
Correction: The US has one of the most inefficient passenger train systems, it has among the best freight systems in the world.
@King Turkey III Not so much to do with that. Freight railroad is successful because it's cheap to ship items/commodities (e.g. coal) in bulk that aren't urgent. It's like the land option of cargo ships.
Wrong not true anymore. Mergers and cut backs are on the way. Prices have been jacked up over and over. Alot of track will go soon.
I think it is a political choice: trains for freight; automobile for passengers’ short trips and planes for long trips.
In my opinion in states such as California, Texas and New York-New England an efficient high speed train system would help people moving better, faster and more relaxing. ( also combined with a metro system in Los Angeles and Texas cities, I’m Italian and in Italy there’s one metro line in the cities like Catania, Sicily and Genoa, Liguria which have respectively 400.000 and 600.000 inhabitants).
@@nicknickbon22 Maybe you Europeans should grow up & research the US.
California literally spent $40+ billion after Obama's high speed rail State of the Union. (tenfold the annual Amtrak expenses see 1st source Brookings)
Deutsche Bahn, literally a German high speed rail firm, was awarded the $40+ billion contract. (Germans so behind schedule that the new CA Governor gave up).
www.brookings.edu/interactives/u-s-passenger-rail-ridership/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_High-Speed_Rail
rubbishrabble i knew it but one state out of 50 can’t change the thing. (Ok that the US is a federal union and so a lot of things that in other countries are planned at a national level in the US are planned at a state level). Anyway until the 2030s there won’t be any high speed train from LA to San Francisco, while in Japan there are plenty of them since the 1960s.
I love the train. Just completed 6,000 miles round trip on Amtrak. Did my whole trip on a power wheelchair which I was able to keep on the car right in front of me. Amtrak employess are some of the nicest people I have ever met, helpful and courteous. Hopefully some day we will have a train that could make it coast to coast in under 8 hours.
US railway is made for freight, not for passengers train
Then why did the US have one of the best passenger railways before WOII? It's just a matter of priority, after WOII the US decided to focus funds and effort towards roads and cars. Which is fine, but that results in passenger rail being in the state it currently is in. If the US decides to put some effort in rail, it could work like it did in the past, especially in the North East Corridor.
There are corridors in the US that are perfect for passenger traffic. In other parts of the country there aren’t just enough cities and major towns close enough together.
@@joories because it was quicker in that time. Now it's not among other things
True
I bet You are already watched wendover production video to comment like this.
Tickets are expensive because the federal government doesn't subsize Amtrak like they do the road or airlines. Roads get over $50 billion, airlines/airpirts/ and the EAS program (essential air service) got over $16 billion. Amtrak gets barely $2 billion a year yet still pays back 95% of it's debt. And the NEC is a money pit that pulls $500million from the long distance trains every year (as Florida why they were charged for snow removal by Amtrak in allocated costs)
Chris Krebill amtrak is a monopoly, thats the reason, its a monopoly right now because for another company to compete it would either have to make its own track or pay to use the already existing track
@@CarlosSanchez-en6mr Amtrak is a monopoly because the federal government created it to take the passenger common carrier responsibility of the large freight railroads in 1970. It was created because the federal government forced the USPS to use the roads which made the passenger trains the private railroads used to run unprofitable.
@David Caudill it get 1/25th the money that roads get every year and 1/8th the money airlines/airports/EAS gets each year. The new England states foot the bill for capital projects that only benefit the NEC and have created the lie that the NEC is profitable. None of it is (though there is a strong case that the long Distance trains could be).
Did you consider how many people use each mode transportation
@@aidang0309 dude you're late to the game (by 2 years). And yes because they have no other modes to use. Litterally the federal government pays for 80% of the cost of Interstate projects and the gas tax doesn't cover the money needed. And roads are just getting more full, the passenger rail network of this country used to be 3 to 4 times what Amtrak is today. If the federal government had equitably funded roads, planes, and trains, our network would be more viable and our roads and airways would be less crowded.
Such a shame that train travel through the US isn't a popular option. Train travel is such a good way to see a country.
Is Wendover and BI on a date? They both upload train videos
But wendover always uploads train videos
you mean land planes right
literally a few minutes apart from each other
Wendover is also far higher quality.
In the end of the video there they list their sources you can actually see Wendover Productions! :D
315$ for a train ticket? Thats nuts.
That figure is cherry-picked. $315 is the price you'd pay for an Acela Express First Class ticket, which is the highest-grade product you can buy on the Northeast Corridor. Airline business class/domestic first class is often just as pricey, but they still don't serve you any food. Acela Business class is easily $100 cheaper than First Class if not more, and Northeast Regionals can sell you the whole trip for under $100 in coach while adding on only about a half hour of travel time.
Kazi Ovi you want come to the U.K. and see some the prices
In my country there is no high speed train as this a developing country not a devloped one. All are regular non electric trains but you can can book a whole family size cabin for 40-50$ where 4 people can sleep or 6-7 people can sit if they want. And the distance is around 300 kilometers. Last of all, I've seen many videos of Chinese high speed railway and CRH trains are way better and modern than accela express but crh is still cheaper probably.
@@arthurstube UK prices are still relatively high compared to other european nations though 🤔
@@OptimusCrime9900 The UK sustains even a larger network of train services than the other European nations do presently. A large number of small stations and halts still exist today not more than five miles from another station or halt... Five miles is good stretch of the legs, easily within reach for the healthy with a bicycle...
Amtrak has a good thing going. It is also unfortunately woefully underfunded and treated continually like a step child
by our Congress. Ironic, since a number of congressmen commute
to and from Washington via Amtrak. if we were not so beholden to the oil and automobile industry we could have a far more extensive and efficient railway system like they do in other parts of the world.
Congress is their problem. If it was run like a real business they could MAKE money.
I do like cars as much as trains. Let me enjoy both of them please.
No Amtrak advocates mentions these facts which are difficult even for Congress to ignore. Less than 2 percent of Americans have ever rode on Amtrak regional or long distance train, not local. Over 80 percent have flown at least once, and 100 percent use highways one way or another if even laying on a gurney in a ambulance. Where would you invest your precious resources considering these facts, highways, airports, or trains? Frankly, Amtrak is OVERFUNDED!
I love Amtrak and only experienced 1 issue over the 80 + trips I used there services back around my middle/ high school days. The train's engine fell out causing the train to stop. We sat on the tracks for about 6 hours, but they fed us and even got us a cab ( no cost to us) from Orlando FL to the Port Of Miami so we could catch our cruise. They also carried our bags for about a half mile to the cab.
This is just me speaking here. But I grew up near Boston and I think taking the train is a better deal then flying. (Circumstances dependent)
It takes me 1 hour to get to Logan. Then your at the airport 2 hours early. Then a 1 hour plane ride. 30 minutes to get your bags. Then 1 hour to get into DC.
Wile on the train I can take 2 bags free, have power outlets and work on my laptop care free. I don’t think flying is necessarily the best. I’ve taken the train across the country as well and I think is a better experience. Talking to the conductors as well on the long haul lines, they say there’s been a higher uptick in passengers consistently for years. So I can say to some degree that this video is not painting a very fair picture.
A plane can be cleared for taxi but then get delayed by an hour on the tarmac before takeoff. Happens every day here in Europe. Trains are rarely as unreliable and you have the choice to alight at the next stop and find another way to your destination, instead of being trapped in an aluminium tube, going nowhere. Now I'm not saying trains are reliable; far from it, but they take you into the city centre unlike a plane. No security lines either, I hate those.
You are in the northwest corridor where passenger is very good. Think about going from Boston to Los Angeles on a train. there will be no comparison. You know your passenger train may have to pull in a siding to give way to freight train. You may sit there for four hour. Because freight trains have priority on the tracks. Your Boston to LA trip may take up to four days on a train. You could fly in less than six hours. Even with the hassle of getting to and from the airport, it is not going to take four days. Flying wins hands down for me.
The northeast corridor, as a previous commenter said, is somewhat unique due to the population density in the area that makes having a train system feasible.
Depends we’re you’re going I guess
I'll start listening when Amtrak shows a profit without 50% of it's operating budget isn't paid for by the taxpayer. It should be broken up into regional passenger services and sold to individuals willing to throw their money into a toilet and losing money.
*China and Japan have joined the chat*
*"I like fast bullet trains!"*
*America: You mean MACHINE GUNS?*
*China and Japan have left the chat*
*Korea, UK, EU, and Morocco have joined the chat*
*America: DAE COW FARTS AND NO PLANES?!?!*
*Korea, UK, EU, and Morocco have left the chat*
China and Japan both love machine guns though
Go be racist somewhere else
Shyan Marie Racist??? How can some people be so dumb like what’s going on in their head smh 🤦♀️
@@xirzx9028 I know, racism is so dumb
We got Bright Line coming and the Amtrak Acela.
Anyone here watching after wendover productions? 😂
no
Kinda like Wendover’s videos why trains suck in America and why trains are so expensive
I watched it when it first came out, and tbh the Wendover video is much better.
WENDOVER FAM UNITE!
Yea lol
When you look at the rest of the world trains, they’re fairly similar in price. The $315 ticket trains are for a roomette on a sleeper train, not traditional passenger trains.
“Amtrak is the only passenger rail service in the US.”
Boom, already answered the whole question of the video.
Acually amtrak is not the only passenger train in the usa we have brightline and tri rail
Craig F. Thompson that’s simply not true.
Maulan Wong technically yes... but most people think of those as commuter rails, as there is only one line for each train, and they both go from Miami to west palm beach. They’re very similar to the mta and mbta commuter rails. However, bright line is much better than Amtrak, and if they were able to expand, that would be very helpful.
Not really, you can find some decently cheap tickets. They aren’t driving the prices up just because they have no competition, because then then won’t make anything as the trains are already bad enough as is. I do think many of the tickets are a bit too expensive tho
and that would not be if left to free-enterprize, cannot make a profit in most regions of the US with the densities of population ... why do we have FEMA, free-enterprize could not met the objective.
I wish we as a country would very heavily invest in high speed railroads. I feel bad for amtrak…i fear one day before too long they’ll go out of business, leaving us with no options at all. I’d much rather take a train over flying, as long as the speed/efficiency could be improved a bit.
High speed rail is good for some areas but it won't replace the long distance trains.
*We have Ryanair, now we need Ryantrain*
What about Ryanbus?
Ryanwalk
Ryantaxi
Lol no Ryantrasportation
Ryanspaceship
Wendover covered America's train issue very well.
WENDOVER FAM UNITE!
Wow. I can’t imagine a more poorly written script that doesn’t give at least one possible answer to the question proposed.
This video basically narrates random facts
Exactly I reached the end of the video and wondered "so _why_ is it so expensive again?'
These are the kinds of "reporters" our colleges and universities are producing. The company I have worked at for more than 13 years has hired hundreds of engineers with degrees over that same time period, and I would say nearly half of them shouldn't have earned a degree. They fail to use common sense, are more into drinking and partying, and have a diffucult time writing an error-free, understandable E-mail message that can be understood by the rest of us.
95% of Amtrak’s operating expenses are covered through its business activities.
right, compare that to the airlines.
John g doesn’t cost anything to maintain airspace. I implore you to take an Amtrak train if you haven’t already, I think you’ll find it much more comfortable than flying.
@@devonmartinski6596 It's on my list
A small loan of $315
that's not all that much....
Sup Justin
Sup justin
Sup Justin
Sup Justin
Going from Mississippi to Washington, DC, Chicago, Atlanta and neighbor New Orleans, I loved riding Amtrak! My favorite part was eating in the expensive dining room, but the food was so good! Then, on a long trip, I got a chance to sleep in the private car, all when I was younger! I flew a few times, rode Greyhound and Trailways, and the train; but there is nothing like traveling solo by car now; even at 51, when these young drivers scare me to death driving so fast!
Highways are far more costly than trains
Anyone noticed the walking pigeon at 4:00 trying to use amtrak.?😂😂
Can’t wait for our bullet train 🚅 from Dallas to Houston.
Buuboi214 i doubt its going to happen, did you see what happened to California’s high speed rail project?
Planeboy 2520 - Unlike California’s High-Speed Rail, the Texas Central High-Speed Rail is privately funded and does not rely on government money to subsidize it.
Planeboy 2520 What happened in California was they didn’t settle all of the eminent domain, and right of way issues, before they broke ground and laid the first piece of track. So the lawsuits were one of the major source of delays and budget overruns.
Yeah I hope this actually works out but I'm sure the airline industry is still lobbying against it
Chris Bautista and what makes you think they won’t make that same mistake again?
I used to go from Grand Rapids MI to Chicago round trip. It was $64. Way cheaper than by car.
wow
Parking in Chicago has been sold off to private companies now. It starts at $30! In the loop. That is just the first hour.
There CEO Richard Anderson eliminated the dining car on some trains. When we ride first class we would rather pay more for good service!
We took Amtrak from NY to Florida and it was the best ride ever. If I had to do it again, I would go Amtrak
Real question is why do people pay for it
It is much more comfortable in my opinion. No TSA. No strict regulations on bag size. Large seats with leg room. Decent food on board. Also many have free WiFi and charging outlets.
So if I dont need to get somewhere super fast, I much rather take a train.
Spongebob SquarePants its better for the environment
Because they need it
Spongebob SquarePants for the experience. Just to say you rode a train
Ethan D Decent food on board? Are you serious?
Too slow, expensive, and often dont get you where you’d want to be.
but it’s fun
Unless you want to be on a train...
Bloom Berg Save our planet from what? The leftist marxist propaganda man made climate change? Youre probably the kind of person that votes for bernie bolshevik sanders or alexandria venezuela cortex.
This is why voting should be IQ restricted.
@@DesertStateNevada I agree with your final statement. You're way too stupid to vote.
DesertStateInEu oh boy here we go again. There’s always that one guy making a bunch of overly political comments. Grow up 🙄
Round trip from Huntington Wv to DC in April 2018, 2 persons, around $328 business class, it was great
I'm sandwiched in between stations, nearest is 26 miles away. If they added a stop here, I'd love to travel by train to visit friends and see sights. I don't drive so this makes it impossible and no bus station stop either.
karen4you aww I hope they do that for you. My closest station is 0.1 miles away in the UK and we took a few trains 180 miles to see my family the other week. The USA will get there one day
Here in south Italy I live 30 minutes from the nearest train station. There's no buses or taxis either, and the roads (alleys basically) are ancient and not meant for cars, but aren't walkable either (no pavement).
It's great fun
Ropsana Khanom So you live next to a station. Great achievement, the main commenter could do that too.
@@DesertStateNevada Cant afford to move but still get to hear trains zoom past my house as tracks 200 feet east of me. Abandoned stationhouse there. In 1950s it was a working station.
DesertStateInEu that’s not my point, the UK has a massive railway connections across the country. I live in a small city and we have the main train station in the city centre and then smaller train stops every 2-4 miles across the city. It doesn’t go everywhere but I could get on my local plate form and go to my dentist’s with a train two miles away, don’t even need the car. As long as you’re not in the countryside there’s a good chance you’ve got a train station somewhat near you you in England
how crazy is it that i literally just bought a ticket from milwaukee to chicago and then this pops up. i am so excited to travel by train, i’ve never done it before and i am very excited to try it.
Because the journey is so much fun it's worth the price.
USA: It’s no fair because we have lots of land to cover
China,with one of the most advanced railroad systems:Am I a joke to you
I know you are telling a joke but USA doesn't subsidize nearly as much as China does tho. Also probably way easier to make some profit off when you have a bunch of 5 million+ cities close to each other when we really only have Chicago, and NYC on the East Coast.
@@sgtass1 yes, i think to infrastructure, the most important thing is not the total cost but the ratio of cost per potentially serviced ppl, but another thing is, once the first one be done, the labour's skill, organization and supply chain would be improved, that will make the cost even lower
Laughs in cheap labor
Chinese people can't even afford high priced tickets in the first place
Wow 315 dollars for a train, I need to get one of those
We should have invested in high speed rail decades ago. It amazes me that we don't have high speed rail between LA and Vegas. I have enjoyed all the trips I took an Amtrak and would absolutely use it more if it was faster.
Did you use a text-to-speech program?
Buddy Clem yes i swear they did they probably bought an amtrak train ticket and now theyre broke
I’ve copied the transcription for friends and family to read, but I can’t reconcile the odd phrasings.
I was going to take a train once from Tampa Florida to Williston North Dakota until I saw the price and the travel time, so I took a plane.
$800 and it would take three and a half days and that's not even in a sleeper car or $650 with delta and I got there that afternoon
Hahaha ohhhh the ridiculousness....
$650 on Delta? That is outrageous as well. That is more expensive than an airplane tix to London from NY.
@@exoressdelivers70 in a 50 seater puddle jumper too
The cheapest way to make that trip would probably be to fly to Do a then rent a car and drive the rest. But it would be complicated.
But, but, you get to see some great scenery and meet interesting people. If you are in to that. Flying beats Amtrak hands down.
Amtrak isn't the ONLY passenger rail service, It's just the one that reaches the most locations.
The Coast Starlight in California is late 100% of the time lol
Actually there’s a new plan for Amtrak to revitalize itself. There’s gonna be more yet shorter routes between distant cities
just open to China, or Russia in 10 years the ticket is worthing $100. A train from moscow to vladivostok 4050 miles is US$304... lasts 144 hours or...6 days... and you can buy a "cabin" for 2,4,6... with discount.. is mainly a tourist train (that is more expensive)...
A ticket from Moscow to Yekaterinburg a 27 HOUR travel, first class is $150 and they have profit!!!
extremelydangerous yes and the cost of living is much lower in that country. 1 USD does not equal 1 Ruble. Go to Russia with 1000 USD and you can live like a king. Come to USA with 1000 Rubles and you can buy yourself a lunch.
@@victork3397 Guess where I intend to live??? From Brasil to Crimea, with an income of US$ 5k/month Guess What kind of living standard I can have. I AM now retired. Even If I Pay a health insurance in Russia, as I do not want, And is not possible to depend on State welfare, I can live better than in the west. I can buy a small flat, a Lada car, And can live the end of my days safe, I Hope I can get permanent residence, as I do not depend on anything from the State. I can speak russian in one year, or even marry a woman with children, And Give them support. $5k/month is about 300k rubles/month.. Just watch...
Strangely, in San Diego County the Coaster service, runs double deck trains, has WiFi and is very reasonably priced.
Man we Canadians are so lucky to have most of these for cheaper then the US even medication wow I happy to have been born and in Canada.
I tried using Amtrak for several years. But with high prices, constant and sometimes long delays, along with grumpy/rude employees - I had enough.
In contrast, I’ve been riding the Northeast Corridor for 30 years. Rude employees were very few and on-time service has improved so much.
@@raymondmuench3266 That’s good to hear. I’ve heard good things about the North East Corridor. I understand that Amtrak is quite a bit different out East. I guess I should have stated that what I wrote is my experience in California. I used to ride the Capital Corridor regularly.
I didn’t notice that rude comment from a year ago by Amtrak 156. Looks like he’s another one who’s had positive experiences. I hope you guys continue to have great experiences on Amtrak. Wish it was the same here out west, I really do. I like riding trains. In Europe and Japan it’s great. Here in the US West not so much.
Best wishes to you and Amtrak 156!
I was going to take Boston to Washington DC but one ticket is more than a few plane tickets 😂😂😂 we drove anyway
I find it funny that she brings up how Amtrak is more expensive from New York to Boston than taking a plane, yet they sell coach tickets at much lower and have had, in the Northeast Corridor, much higher ridership than planes for over a decade.
If you order ahead of time you can go from Chicago to San Francisco for about $300 on the California Zephyr. It's a hell of a trip, very scenic, especially through the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada.
Very nice write-up good video Amtrak always goes above and beyond to take care of their passengers. If you have not ridden in one everyone should it is a awesome experience
If I didn't know better, I'd swear this girl reading the narrative was still in high school. I feel like I'm sitting in a sophomore history class.
Same. I copied the transcription to show friends and family, but I can’t reconcile the odd phrasing.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MORE LIKE.
I've taken Amtrak from New York to Baltimore several times. For $45 and under three hours it's well worth sitting in a comfortable seat, no arriving at an airport two hours ahead and going through security and checkin, etc. Even if booking just a day ahead it's still only $85.
If trains can travel at 300 mph and get from NY to LA in 12 hrs without being a lot more than a plane ticket, many would love to travel as it's more comfortable.
Well! We can always ask those greddy cars and Oil companies who constantly blocking anything that can became their rivals!
I can honestly say Amtrak is by far my favorite way to travel HOWEVER it only makes sense to use it in the Northeast. Forget about long distance trains.
I'd disagree there great if your taking a vacation.
@@agggrgrg2419 Well the long distance trains are comfortable and travel through some beautiful scenery, but they take forever.
I just searched this the other day and now there's a video about it. Thanks guys.
I like the Amtrak however it could be a lot better with the right about of money invested in to it. And idk how many live in the Midwest but I’d like moline IL station to open to generate more traffic towards the city of Chicago
Note to narrator: “100” is pronounced “ONE hundred”, not just “Hundred”.
thank you! that really bothered me too.
Thank you. That was driving me nuts. It made me wonder if the narrator isn't a native English speaker.
Thank you! That aspect of this video was driving me crazy!!!
@@cadicorniche the deterioration of English is an epidemic.
Ok boomer
One of the big downfalls is that Amtrak and other US passenger railroads often have tried going for the slow, intercity sleeper train like the Empire Builder, Silver Star or California Zephyr, whereas most European networks have focused more heavily on providing local and regional services as well as Fast Intercity trains. There are sleeper trains in Europe but they mostly serve a niche market. The main business is with regional lines and high speed trains. Often 200kmh or faster at a pretty consistent rate. This is also why we're seeing an increase in the amount of smaller train services in the country, with the introduction of systems like TexRail, probably the most European style service anywhere in the States, and the upcoming electrification of Caltrain. Not to mention in the higher speed market we're seeing Brightline/Virgin breaking through in Florida on their route from Miami to West Palm Beach and soon Orlando. And the California high speed rail, even with it's massive delays and cost overruns at the moment will likely be revolutionary to rail transport in the states, like the Tokaido Shinkanzen was in Japan back in 1964.
The big downfall of Amtrak is that's a federal rail company whereas the EU isn't having one. Each member state is having its own national rail company plus private companies from which some are operating internationally. This means that people in the Benelux countries don't have to pay for trains in countries like Bulgaria whereas people living in the three-state area have to pay for rail in states like Wyoming. And it isn't just about the finances. Schedules also have to be planned on a federal level in the USA whereas in the EU this doesn't have to be the case. Pretty annoying for the Interrail traveler, but to be honese, these are in a minority while rail on a state level can be kept reliable.
I'm not sure the high speed trains are the main market tbh, there is a substantial cost advantage to taking the slow train if you have time
@@speedbird1598 I mean kinda but even then, across the continent most Intercity train services, even those not classed as high speed by the operators, go 200km/h or just a bit below. Doesnt matter if its Sweden, Austria, Germany, France, or the UK.
Mr. Anderson, current Amtrak CEO needs to be FIRED! His edict that privately owned cars no longer be hauled on surf line trains out of L. A. is unacceptable.
Sources: Wendover Productions. No wonder it sounds familiar
Doesn’t matter how expensive it is, people are still going to pay for it
The train that helps ppl in illinois go into the city of the chicago cost maybe 13 bucks (depending on how far you go). When we were going states away on a trip the train tickets were 100 a person. Pretty insane and would take 24hrs to get there. We flew there for 150 a person. Took 4hrs max.
@Craig F. Thompson saving 50 bucks per person. That 50 bucks would be be used towards food for that 24/hr ride. You dont save money at all with the train unless your carrying 5 extra suitcases. Train rides should be no more then 70 bucks.
I don't know how a 2-day coach seat trip from Chicago to San Francisco for $120.00 could be considered expensive. I have a very tiny income and it sounds like a bargain to me both price wise and for the scenery.
I would like to have a railway trip from New York to Los Angeles one day. However even the premium most expensive tickets offer very poor comfort.
Uhhhh, Amtrak isn’t the only private railroad in the continental US, Brightline, a higher speed service, just opened last year and operates between Miami and west palm beach, plus its a privately operated railroad.
The video says Amtrack is the only railroad that operates around/across the continental us, the route you described is a short snippet
@@shutupsavannah2195 Well actually bright line only opened recently and before that Amtrak is the only passenger rail operator. But now, after an absence of 3 decades and losing money for half a century, private, regional based operators are coming back. And bright line, now called virgin USA, also bought the Xpress West, the LA Vegas hsr, with potential to extend to Denver. Don't play with the words though.
This is a misleading video. Amtrak is subsidized, it's true. Highways are subsidized, however. Airlines, believe it or not, are also subsidized. In fact, for every penny in Amtrak subsidies, there is a dime of highway and a dollar of airline subsidy. To make Amtrak profitable, and return passenger rail to its rightful place as an efficient and cost-effective people-mover, Amtrak should be exempt from paying any rent on any privately-owned rail. No exceptions.
Consider this. The NY-Miami train used to run in about 17 hours. If the freight companies had to build their rights of way to the same standard as the NE corridor, it would take about 10 hours to go from NY to Miami. Airlines would definitely not like you to spend about 10-cents a mile to get to Florida... because you'd be paying a fair price. The issue is much more complex than a short video or comment from an ex-railroader can deliver, but the history is there to be read and understood, if you care to find out for yourself.
Well said.
So your saying, if a private train company pays to build, maintain and opperate a track that they intend to use for their own trains.
Then amway/goverment should have to right to seize the track for several hours a day for their own use without paying the private company a cent? That sounds alot like nationalization.
If you believe that, than anyone in the country should be allowed to enter your house day or night take a dump in your toilet, use your tp and leave without flushing, using air freshener or paying you a cent and if you refuse to allow them then they will just sieze your house. Thats essentially what your suggesting we do to private train companies, all because they have the nerve not to lose money.
@@phil2782 I strongly suggest you go read the history of American railroads, particularly beginning with the period around WWI and lasting through WWII and on up through the 1960's and early 1970's. You will get a serious eye-opener in terms of how the railroads were dealt one dirty blow after another by the American government. Partly due to the `1st &2nd WW efforts, but also in part to-- as you say-- "nationalize" the railroads, but mostly because their wartime chicanery all but destroyed them and "nationalization" was a last ditch effort to try and save them.
The real thing is passenger mile subsidy. Amtrak is 35 cents per passenger mile. Airlines? They carry many times the number of passengers, and their subsicy is .5 cents per passenger mile... In other words 2 orders of magnitude less.
@Craig F. Thompson Actually, not so much here They get paid for carrying the postage around, but have to pay for the airsides via ticket taxes. (The airsides are required by LAW to break even. There are a few airports where that doesn't happen... Gary Indiana has NO scheduled service, and thus has problems breaking even. The airport in Raleigh breaks even, and actualy makes lots of money on parking. The air traffic control is privatized everywhere else including Canada and Europe. IE, no government support.. about $ 5 to $.55per ticket max.. and in most cases down around $5. That could move a few hundred million off the feds by privatizing.. The railroads seem to be getting large blobs of federal money to help recover after a hurricane. I'm sure they don't mind the help. That said..the NE corridor should be GIVEN to NY State, Mass, NY, NJ and so on Allow THEM to handle the maintenance. Of course NY is 2 billion behind on income since they taxed the rich right out of the state. NJ is working on that... and is also under water... Let's See... NH and CN are both in serious trouble as well, but are doing better than NY.. so perhaps they can figure out how to do maintenance. Meanwhile, every air traveler is paying through the nose to cover the costs of their trips. The 35 cents per passenger mile for Amtrak is not huge...but the federal subsidy is about 1 cent a mile per passenger for the air traveller.... The government needs to put the money where the users are... and Amtrak isn't it.
Every time I've looked at Amtrak tickets I've been amazed at how expensive they were. Slower and more expensive than flying? Hard pass.
It’s because the lines are old. The long distance routes go through towns that are really, really small. If they built new, higher speed tracks through bigger cities, they’d make a good profit.
Grab on to the side and go. For extra comfort ride on the top india style.
When I was a kid I use to sneak into the Amtrak got caught a couple times just to go visit a girl .
I’ve taken it numerous times and I’ve never run into outrageous prices like the example they chose to give. I also find train travel far less of a hassle, and much more comfortable than airlines.
Plus, some of the routes I’ve taken are extremely scenic, making the journey as much or more of the vacation than the destination! I highly recommend taking the California Zephyr between Sacramento and Denver-absolutely stunning!! 😄
Frankly, it wasn't popularity of autos that supplanted trains, it was the machinations of the auto companies.
They bullied quiet efficient streetcars out of New York favour of filthy smelly buses
This narrator....complete snooze fest
She sounds like a text-to-speech program!
Buddy Clem worse..
She might be an intern
Her narration is like that 3rd to last class presentation where ur banging ur head on the desk and not listening because you just want to go home.
Set speed to 1.25
Shit they’re better than Greyhound so I’ll be choosing Amtrak from now on.
Amtrak is getting there. When they started, they had no budget and the all the crappy equipment, the other railroads (who had been losing money), chose to give them. I am tired of all these hit pieces on the most relaxing way to travel that I know of. Go for relaxation for once. Flying is so stressful - I don't need more stress, I need less. I get that for the price of a train ticket. Amtrak is very affordable.😍
Depends on the area you travel. We took 4 family members round trip Chicago to Fresno and back for the same cost as 1 1/2 plane tickets. Just need to remember it will take more than 4 hours to get there. The stop at the Glacier Park station is worth the trip by itself.
And I didn’t need a body scan or remove my shoes for the trip.
Four hours if Amtrak is not running late. And it usually is.
Russia has a much reliable and cheaper, more comfortable and more profitable long distance train service albeit it has a more sparse population.
The problem of the Amtrak is indeed not the overall population density but the bad city planing.
Amtrak is another example of Blue urban areas subsidizing Red rural area just like mail/phone/internet service.
Except the overwhelmingly vast majority of rail users are true blue urban swpls. Your racism is sickening
The blue states are buying the tix with thousands of passengers daily so that the red states with a handful of daily passengers would have rail service.
Exoress Delivers Kind of like how the red states are working so they can pay increasing taxes to carry freeloading blue states.
DesertStateInEu Do you pick you're nose and eat the booger?
DesertStateInEu You're not even from this country. Go worry about your native Hungary.
Wonderful business model of consistently reducing losses (while hoping to turn a profit someday) indicates excellent training. Cheers!
The reason why we have Amtrak is because there are many places that planes don’t go to. Also a lot people can afford train ticket, just some lines are definitely more expensive but most of them is fairly cheap. Los Angeles to San Francisco $99 round trip, works for me. Better than going to the airport 2 hours early to get your plane... granted some trains are late, but I have yet experience super later train (hour or more late)
We have all watched the wendover production video about this, BI is late to the party😂
Amtrak. When you absolutely, positively, have to be there in three days.
I am getting on Amtrak tonight From Missouri to Fort Worth Texas (14 hour trip) and my ticket was the lowest it has ever been for that trip. Normally is around $80.00 for Coach but this time it was only $44.00! I had to take several double looks at the order page. I Love Amtrak the most comfortable was for travel if you aren't in a hurry to get there!
I had never even heard of Amtrak. I know the intercontinental railroad was a thing but I thought it wasnt operational and was just dismantled away. But this sounds pretty cool, a way to see the open plains of the US
why do u compare US to Japan? China is bigger than US...yet better railway system...
Cause most of China’s population is on the coast/east. US population is scattered all around the country.
Shawn6466 Then build just on the East, Or North East at least...Where population density is higher.
There are Thousand reasons not to do anything about it.
Forever Blue well Texas is building a bullet train, California is building hyper loop as well as Chicagoland area. The east coast will come up with something in the future.
America is bankrupt unlike china
China’s railway system operates at a much higher loss
All I heard was the government took over another area of the private sector that was “too big to fail” and have constantly been wasting tax dollars to keep it afloat ever since. This seems to be some sort of running theme. But yet we still ask for more government intervention in the private sector. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.
They had to. The biggest railroads in the NE(New York Central, Pennsylvania Railroad)went bankrupt around the same time. The government had to form Conrail to consolidate both passenger and freight services. That's when Amtrak was formed to make up for the lines the private railroads provided. Conrail then ran commuter train services until they were handed to their local governments which formed the commuter railroads you see today. Passenger service has never been profitable but the government has to find a way to get freight railroads to provide passenger service. Since they've all benefited from Conrail which absorbed all the losses.
The competition is heavily govermentinfluenced aswell, highways are build by the state, airtravel is getting subsdizedet so your point is invalid
I can always appreciate civil discourse. Thanks for those who responded. While my opinion is my own, I still hold to it. When customer demand no longer supports a business, it simply shutters. If it is still a needed business, other companies step in and buy their assets at a cut rate and modify the pricing/ practices to make it profitable.
By 1970-1980 (Conrail and Amtrak), cars were plentiful, airline service was common, buses were available, etc. So it was possible for things to survive while the balances were reset. As for local commuter rails, those don’t seem to be the area of discussion here as they were referencing more longer travel distances than metropolitan areas.
As far as the reference to highways being subsidized, that’s not on point here. No one is arguing the necessity for an inter/intrastate system. Our tax dollars (fuel tax, toll tax, registration fees, auto sales tax, etc) all go to support such a system. My taxes (in my opinion) shouldn’t pay to sustain the bus network, train network, airlines, etc. Those are all individual private business that should survive based on their own sales and profitability.
We all need cars to get around (in most places in the country). Using this mentality, if your local car dealership is going to shut down, the government should step in to ensure they don’t close.
Craig F. Thompson I think you missed my point. I was not trying to advocate for the government to bail out individual car dealerships, or even auto manufacturers. (In fact, I’m against both of those ideas.) I was making a comparison.
I was simply saying that the same mentality of propping up these failing rail lines, if applied in all sectors, would result in the government bailing out/ buying out all kinds of businesses that it is better off staying out of.
In regards to rail and public transit bringing people together, that may be a positive side effect of mass transit, however, I feel that no one should be forced into any mode of transit based on someone’s personal ideals. Let the people decide with their dollars.
(As a side note, most people don’t really enjoy reading comments with a lot of capitalization as it implies your yelling when this has just been a casual exchange of opinions.)
A little miss leading on the comparison to SNCF. They don't just cover France, I have taken it from Paris to Amsterdam
Also not to mention on the north east corridor it takes the same time as driving. DC to New York on Amtrak is 3.5 hours. Driving is 4 hours. With the train you still have to drive to the station, wait to board, and drive to your destination once you get off the train. The MegaBus and other buses takes you for $15. So I’m shocked that the Northeast gets that much business on Amtrak.
Cheaper to travel from Dallas to Chicago Round Trip on Amtrak (in a bedroom not coach), than to fly on American or Southwest
rather have better rail than a pretty useless wall
mike a Yet the rail will be far more beneficial to the local, state, and national economics. Yeah a wall can prevent billions of "damages" from happening. But the rail can help with probably 10s of billions towards the economy as a whole. More jobs, better efficiency, happier workers, better productivity. And then from that you can still build a wall and fix our delapidated infrastructure.
@mike a We had a train system that built its own way without government funding. The automotive industry relied on government funding for roads. The airlines rely on the government for airports, TSA, and air traffic control. If we put half of what we put into those industries toward rebuilding our passenger rail system (or cut all funding for transportation), quality passenger rail service would return.
The report did not mention that because freight traffic has priority on nearly all rail lines in this country, this often leads to delays on Amtrak routes when those freights wreck, break down, or are just running behind because of a combination of factors. Amtrak has no control over this, but it does hurt on-time performance, which hurts ticket sales. And the media are always quick to point out that Amtrak often runs behind schedule; they just don't always report why.
I understand that Amtrak has had a lot of financial troubles, (not to mention bad publicity after a accident happens) but I am sure that one day Amtrak will become well financially stable and make profit. I just don't know when that exact day will be.
Not true. Yes, long distance trains are expensive but you get meals, drinks snacks and a bed with a view. Local trains are super low cost when compared to an airline.
How much of your travel time is spent in the dark? What good is a view when there is nothing to see?
You are obviously not a train rider. You should fly and look at the tops of the clouds in daylight.
Lol the username is Amtrak. Wonder if they were paid to say that bs.
Mike A No. I don’t work for any part of the government or Amtrak. I’m simply a retired guy that rides the rails, and my opinion is not BS. Thanks for your comment though.
I'd still rather have Amtrak subsidized over Tomahawk Missiles.
Eco Mouse stfu city dweller, military is more vital than these trains! If u don’t like it then get the fvck out of my country!
I am going to use Amtrak to go to college because it’s the only form of transportation where you can bring you car along with you for 200 dollars and you get a whole cabin for yourself which also comes with a good dinner and amazing views. But it’s kinda funny because I’m going to college to learn Aerospace engineering.
in Malaysia, we called it "KTM ETS Train", it's fast, and cheap. Safely from KL to the other states in around 2-3 hours only. You can eat, sleep, just like in airplane.
Bullet Trains: Am I a joke to you?