Upsides to the Down Economy/ In Defense of the Train

A couple of weeks ago I took a train from Charleston, South Carolina (where my sister Kelley and I were visiting our brother and his wife) to Miami. Other than the early departure time (5 a.m.), what a pleasant experience! We arrived at the Amtrak station thirty minutes before departure and waited for the train to arrive. There were no hassles with security, no need to count ounces of liquid or limit carry-on, no waiting in line and showing your ID ten thousand times. We boarded and were greeted by a porter who showed us to our sleeping car. We stored our luggage, climbed into bed and went to sleep to the gentle chugging of the train. We slept until the porter knocked on our door for breakfast, three hours later. We walked to the dining car, where we had a good breakfast (an omelet with real eggs, a biscuit and coffee) and a delightful chat with a woman who was a mathematics professor at University of Florida, and her son. She had taken the train from Philadelphia and said she loved it because she was able to get so much work done and it was such an easy way to travel.

Amtrak was organized in 1971 by the U.S. government to provide intercity train service; it connects 500 destinations in 46 states, as well as Canada. Train travel, besides being a hassle-free way to go, is one of the more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation, generating less carbon dioxide than car or air travel. Despite all these pluses, the U.S. has one of the lowest intercity rail usages in the developed world. Why? Perhaps, in this time where everything moves so quickly and instant gratification abounds, train travel seems sort of an old fashioned mode of transport. Indeed, I kept flashing back to images of 1959 and North by Northwest, my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie, where Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint meet (and hook up) on a train.

Eve Kendall "It's going to be a long night."

Roger Thornhill "True."

Eve Kendall "And I don't particularly like the book I've started."

Roger Thornhill "Ah."

Eve Kendall "You know what I mean?"

Roger Thonhill "Ah, let me think. Yes, I know."

There was no evidence of Cary Grant on the train (although there was an adorable guy with his young son), but plenty of evidence that I will be choosing Amtrak again. At a time when airlines are nickle and dime-ing passengers for every single item, we paid $140 for our ticket and that included our meals (breakfast and lunch). We were able to spread out, read the paper and watch the world go by from our window. So next time you travel, consider the benefits of riding by rail.