Lake Chapala's INSIDE LAKESIDE
Log In or Register

Check your spam/junk folder for activation e-mail after you register.

Join the forum, it's quick and easy

Lake Chapala's INSIDE LAKESIDE
Log In or Register

Check your spam/junk folder for activation e-mail after you register.
Lake Chapala's INSIDE LAKESIDE
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

Possible return of Passenger trains

+3
CanuckBob
mudgirl
ferret
7 posters

Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by ferret Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:13 am

I would love to be able to travel by train but have my doubts as to whether this will be possible. imho, it would be great if they added vehicle transportation to these routes as well. Like the ones that used (still do?) run between the northeast U.S. to Florida. Many like to have their vehicle with them but balk at long distance driving.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/grupo-mexico-cpkc-have-submitted-8-passenger-train-route-proposals/?utm_source=mnd_mktg_free&utm_campaign=read_all_about_it&utm_medium=email

ferret
ferret
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 10364
Join date : 2010-05-23

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by mudgirl Thu Mar 14, 2024 1:33 pm

I love travelling by train. I once took the train across Canada from Ontario to BC., and also from Vancouver to San Francisco.
And I lived two blocks from the end of the line on Vancouver Island, and took the train, which is no longer running, back and forth to Victoria several times. (Those tracks were originally slated to go all the way up the Island, but ended up stopping halfway, in Courtenay, as apparently it was a too expensive engineering project to build a train bridge across the Puntledge River)

mudgirl
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 2230
Join date : 2020-05-10

ferret likes this post

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by CanuckBob Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:19 am

Yes, train traveling can be fun. I have taken a train across Myanmar in SE Asia and across Egypt from Cairo to Ashwan. Both times we booked a whole private coach car to ourselves.

_________________
Vacation Rentals
https://casadecomo.mx/
CanuckBob
CanuckBob
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 20522
Join date : 2010-04-04
Age : 61
Location : Lake Chapala (from Vancouver)
Humor : Sick and twisted

https://casadecomo.mx

ferret likes this post

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by nlu Fri Mar 15, 2024 12:17 pm

I believe that was was about 1980 or 1981 that I took the train from Nuevo Laredo to Mexico City, Changed trains in San Luis Poyasi and slept to Mexico City. Great experience.

nlu
Senior member
Senior member

Posts : 61
Join date : 2017-12-21

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by brigitte Fri Mar 15, 2024 1:17 pm

dup


Last edited by brigitte on Fri Mar 15, 2024 1:20 pm; edited 1 time in total

brigitte
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 4318
Join date : 2011-12-02

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by brigitte Fri Mar 15, 2024 1:19 pm

I am from EUrope so train travelling is still going on there but I am afraid it eventually will be out since they have to be subsidized by the governments and lose money .. I am sorry I never went on one of the large ocean liners that also disappeared as mode of transportation. Now we have cruisesor epensive cabins on container ships but the ocean liners are gone and the train will disappear little by little..Never went on the old Orient epress either. Such a shame.

brigitte
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 4318
Join date : 2011-12-02

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by mudgirl Fri Mar 15, 2024 2:00 pm

Back in 1969 I took an ocean liner from Europe to NY. It was pretty cool.

mudgirl
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 2230
Join date : 2020-05-10

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Difficult but not impossible for PAX trains to return

Post by NoVaDamer Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:10 pm

I can't speak to Canada, but here in Mexico and especially in the US, the rail lines were turned over to freight travel, and passenger service is almost non-existent. While some complain about that (I love travelling on trains), it makes freight movement fast and cheap. So the cost of reintroducing passenger trains is slower freight trains, meaning greater cost for everything else you buy.

In Europe, the advent of cheap local air travel put a huge dent in the once great European train system. Now it's coming back. Over Night Trains are popping up, and more high-speed options, too. France either passed or is considering a law eliminating national flights when a direct rail connection exists, for climate purposes. Deregulation is allowing national train lines to compete outside their borders, will also improve the outcome for passengers.

A fast Mexico City-Guadalajara route would be great, and one line either up the Gulf or Pacific coast and connecting to the US, or both.
NoVaDamer
NoVaDamer
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 138
Join date : 2012-05-30
Location : Ajijic
Humor : Si!

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by ferret Fri Mar 15, 2024 9:02 pm

Passenger trains are alive and well in both the U.S. and Canada.

In Canada... Via Rail... https://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains

In the U.S....Amtrak... https://www.amtrak.com/train-routes
ferret
ferret
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 10364
Join date : 2010-05-23

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Alive, not well

Post by NoVaDamer Sat Mar 16, 2024 7:48 am

As to America, I've ridden Amtrak several times: generally poor service, minimal schedules, and frequent delays. Without federal government subsidies, it would have gone bankrupt years ago.

That's not entirely Amtrak's fault. For one thing, the federal government interferes with it's scheduling, making it keep unprofitable routes for political reasons. But mostly it's because the feds turned over control of the rails to the freight companies, making Amtrak "rent" time on the rails, and making them the last priority when they do so. Which is the problem having any attempt to revive Pax rail in the USA or in Mexico.
NoVaDamer
NoVaDamer
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 138
Join date : 2012-05-30
Location : Ajijic
Humor : Si!

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by ferret Sat Mar 16, 2024 8:10 am

Point taken. I was rebutting your "non-existent" statement.
I would like to hop on the Amtrak in San Antonio, Texas and go west to the coast and all the way up to Vancouver then Vancouver to Calgary. After Calgary, it's just flat and boring until it gets to Northern Ontario.
Southern Ontario has a very good commuter train (Go Train), which is well used and heaven sent for anyone who lives outside of Toronto but works in the city. There is an unlimited ride monthly pass for those commuters. Used to take the 6:12 am from Guildwood Village into Union Station every morning (and evening). Sitting with a coffee and reading the paper beat the hell out of driving or taking the bus and then a subway.
ferret
ferret
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 10364
Join date : 2010-05-23

CanuckBob, Irish Gal, NoVaDamer and mudgirl like this post

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by ferret Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:41 am

This article just popped up. https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/the-8-coolest-train-trips-you-can-take/ss-AA1ji87W?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=2cb2b293b30f462490f84883e2f8ba02&ei=255#image=2
ferret
ferret
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 10364
Join date : 2010-05-23

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by Jubilacion Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:04 pm

Before retiring and moving Lakeside I worked for Canadian Pacific  Possible return of Passenger trains 1f682 as a Freight Conductor aboard our trains in Wisconsin/MN/IA & Illinois. We rented tracks to Amtrak who often had "right-of-way" because they paid for it. However as anal as CP Management was for on-time performance from our freight crews, NEVER did they blame passenger rail traffic.

Freight schedules are more flexible and scheduling around passenger rail is not a difficult task since rail tracks are often underutilized. The extra revenue from passenger rail may help keep freight rates more reasonable for rail customers. BRING IT ON!

Jubilacion
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 101
Join date : 2020-08-15
Location : Lakeside East
Humor : Yes, please!

ferret likes this post

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by mudgirl Mon Mar 18, 2024 2:17 pm

This thread got me thinking how many things are deemed not financially viable, not because they can't pay for themselves, but because they don't generate enough profit for greedy upper
management and shareholders or suffer from senseless corporate decisions.

Where I used to live on Vancouver Island, there is a public transit system, which far more people would avail themselves of if the buses ran more frequently with more bus stops. They use these huge buses that sometimes only have a handful of people on them, and use the excuse that they can't afford to beef up the frequency and number of buses because ridership is low. But it wouldn't be low if it was practically convenient. They could use a fleet of mini-buses instead of those huge buses, which would be full in a big city, but not in a small one, which would be less costly to run, so there could be more of them and they would be full.

As it is, unless people are retired, unemployed, or on vacation, most don't have the time to arrange their lives to catch the bus to a doctor's appt. if the bus only comes by once an hour and you have to walk 5 blocks to a bus stop.

mudgirl
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 2230
Join date : 2020-05-10

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by NoVaDamer Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:35 pm

Here's a 2012 Congressional report on the topic re the US. Things have gotten much worse since then:
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42512.html
NoVaDamer
NoVaDamer
Share Holder
Share Holder

Posts : 138
Join date : 2012-05-30
Location : Ajijic
Humor : Si!

Back to top Go down

Possible return of Passenger trains Empty Re: Possible return of Passenger trains

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum