Many wheels bad?

"Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras" (jegoingout)
08/17/2016 at 10:56 • Filed to: None

NJ Transit sucks, amtrak sucks, LIRR sucks....but i’ll always prefer train travel into NYC rather than driving

DISCUSSION (15)

The Dummy Gummy > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:05

The ferry or path is my go to.

Nibby > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:05

I prefer driving honestly, the LIRR is such shit and it’s cheaper to drive anyways.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:08

It’s all about population density. We don’t have it in America to support a serious rail and transit system. New York obviously does, but on the whole, America has 1/8th the population density of the European countries that rich college students want to emulate where their train systems still aren’t solvent.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
08/17/2016 at 11:14

The 12 most densely populated states in the US have about the same pop density as France and Spain, so yeah, high-speed rail should definitely be feasible in the North-East and California. Infrastructure isn’t solvent (neither is road infra), but rail service itself can certainly be profitable.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:14

The problem is the cost of taking the train versus the cost of driving is way too similar. In particular, the train is cheaper if you are only 1 person. If you have 2 or more people, driving is actually cheaper. Now you have to comnsider all of the costs for this to make sense. For the train, I have to pay about $5 to park there for the day, take an hour train for $10 a person ($20 for 2 people - one way), and then subway costs are the same. For driving, I have to pay $12 for the toll and about $20 to park for the day plus gas driving the extra half hour to an hour depending on traffic. That ends up being a cost of $45 for the train route and about $40 including gas for driving. Add a third or fourth person and the total cost goes through the roof for the train but stays the same for driving. So any time I go to NYC, I generally just drive in if I am going with my girlfriend since its actually cheaper. $20 parking is definitely doable, just gotta go uptown and take the subway down to where you wanna go.

For Sweden > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:14

Meanwhile, freight trains in America are fantastic, but they are not-fantastic in not-America.

For Sweden > Nibby
08/17/2016 at 11:14

and it’s full of Long Islanders

AntiSpeed > For Sweden
08/17/2016 at 11:21

But so are the roads!

AntiSpeed > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:24

It’s slow and expensive but if you can afford a sleeper room holy hell is it so much fun. And the food is actually really good, as long as you’re in the dining car and not the cafe car.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
08/17/2016 at 11:54

I was appalled at how bad commuter trains are in NYC. Chicago’s Metra system is so more efficient, cheaper, and they’re using other railroads’ tracks in most cases!

DynamicWeight > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/17/2016 at 11:58

And when you’re really looking at the five dollar difference and realize you get to be in your own car, which is nice and clean, and at any time you could change your mind and do whatever the hell you want... well, that starts looking like a really cheap five bucks.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > DynamicWeight
08/17/2016 at 13:17

Especially since NY (Manhattan) has two decent ways to get into the city (GW bridge and Holland tunnel) and one terrible ocassional alternative (Lincoln tunnel) so traffic is usually avoidable to some degree. The train is convenient though at least if you plan on drinking. You get plenty of time to sober up before you get back to your car in Jersey. And assuming its not raining, snowing, slightly foggy, too hot, too cold, or its a holiday, the train will generally run kind of on time.

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
08/17/2016 at 15:07

The problem there is that land is most expensive where the population density demands it. If you’re going to have high speed rail be efficient, you’re going to need dedicated rights-of-way separate from freight and local passenger service.

In Europe, eminent domain or large public budgets paid for the dedicated right of ways. In the US, where there’s much less political support for grand infrastructure projects that aren’t roads, there’s little chance of the government shouldering the real estate burden. Hell, this is why the California high speed rail project is starting in the least populated part of the line - land is cheapest out there, and if they build the center of the line, eventually there will be the political/financial support to finish the more expensive parts that terminate in major cities. The first link will also give a bypass route for conventional Amtrak California trains that otherwise run at lower speeds on freight lines.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!)
08/17/2016 at 15:21

Agreed, and that’s one of the biggest hurdles for US rail, and infrastructure projects in general. My feasibility comment was primarily aimed at the ‘there are not enough people close enough’ claim, as, save for a political shift, I don’t really see it happening either. Rail (and public transport in general) as a public service is not something that’ll be easily accepted.

As an aside, perhaps Silicon Valley should work on making rail sexy and hip again, instead of trying to figure out Hyperloop.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Where have all the lightweights gone?
08/18/2016 at 07:55

You don’t know bad until you commute from NJ-NY via NJ Transit