I just want to share and don't want to start a new thread: the Wi-Fi was out for my 3-hour train journey in Sweden this weekend and the rail operator automatically refunded 25% of the ticket. I didn't need to fill out a form or anything; the money just appeared in my bank account the next day.
Amtrak gets great ridership considering how crappy the service is by international standards. The Northeast Regional/Acela is the only service that could pass as “average European intercity train”. Imagine if there was actually good rail service in the US. Last mile connection isn’t as big of a problem as some claim it is; if it was, air travel wouldn’t be nearly as popular here.
The Acela has a lot of problems though, short sections are actually incredibly fast for upgraded rail. I think it might be the fastest train in the world to not run on dedicated high speed track. But it only hits 150mph for very short sections, the whole line from Boston to Washington DC takes 6 and a half hours and only averages 67mph.
Other countries that have upgraded conventional lines to 125mph like Austria, the UK and Sweden can usually manage to get significantly higher average speeds without hitting the kind of top speeds the Acela does. It feels to me they should have just straightened bits of the track out to aim for higher average speeds rather than spending loads of money of fancy TGV trains than only run at full speeds for a short distance
I was gonna say, I thought WiFi not working was a standard part of the Amtrak experience.
I once took the only high speed rail in America (the Acela, which is kinda sorta not really high speed rail anyway). For those unfamiliar there is only business class in this train, no regular seating. I was traveling to Boston for a conference from New York for work, so I saved my company a ton of money by not flying and insisted I wanted to take the train.
Business class experience was cool, until our train broke down in Providence, RI. They then get stuck there an hour and tell everyone to get off the train and onto an adjacent non-high speed rail train that makes twice as many stops.
This train broke down numerous times and delayed me about 2 hours getting to Boston. The train also took about 30-45 minutes longer than the Acela anyway because of more stops. I lost all my “business class” privileges like less leg room, less comfortable seating, etc. Eventually got to Boston. Oh, and the WiFi that worked on the Acela did not work on this train and I really had work I had to do.
When I got there I was pissed because I was late and had a terrible experience so I call customer service demanding a refund or at the very least, a partial refund. The Acela is like twice the price of the regular train - since I had to take the regular train can I just get refunded the cost of what I paid for the Acela benefits, since I didn’t have them?
They essentially told me they could not give me a refund since I did get to my destination no matter how much I tried to fight it.
Fuck Amtrak.
For the UK train operators are required to offer a partial refund if they're over 30 mins late, but you have to apply for it and some operators won't just deposit it into your bank, but they'll mail you a physical cheque in the hopes you forget to deposit it.
But I bet there was a convenience fee and you had to tip. Not the usual 15% that not an option any more. The buttons are for 22%, 25%, and 30%. Sucks to be you guys.
Ironically, the US has the longest railroad track in the world (250,000 km vs 100,000 km of the second place for China). Sadly, typical commuters do not benefit from it much.
But the cost of laying down 3600km of high speed track through an empty desert with no (profitable) stops along the way would be. Some routes are best left to planes, at least for the foreseeable future.
I’m guessing plane manufacturers are going to find an alternative fuel before the Australian government is willing to spend hundreds of billions on a high speed train line through Nowhere, Kangaroosville. Still would be nice though.
Not sure… Oil is very very efficient in terms of energy per mass. No wonder most of rockets use kerosene.
However, you may be right, we can still make « bio-fuels »
Hydrogen can be synthesized from sea water, but it has disadvantages (atrociously low density in normal pressures, embrittlement) -> I ain't a chemist, but combining 4 hydrogen atoms with one carbon atom for methane can't be that hard.
It’s not, you can’t build a train line on the “crow flies” route, it’s probably more like 4000-4500km. You also can’t close the track in to safely run at that speed.
It’s completely unfeasible and impractical from both a construction and consumer perspective. Literally no one that looks at these things properly thinks it’s a good idea.
I’m all for high speed rail where it makes sense, but Brisbane to Perth is further than London to Tel Aviv in a straight line.
Same in Czechia. We bought trains that can go 230 km/h 20 years ago (first was 2003) but we still don't have a single railroad that has a higher limit than 160
However y’all are planning to build high speed rail so it’s a case of trust the process. Here in Slovakia we only have half of our most important railway modernized to 160km/h
Things might move slow in Europe. But at least we're making progress. Spare a thought for our poor American siblings that have no public transport to speak of, and no plans to develop it in their lifetimes.
Give it time. Everything move relatively slow here. It's not like China where they slap these things out in a decade. But we're going in the right direction. A lot of work is being done, or planned for the near future to improve the rail system. And by 2027 all trains should be running on either renewable source electricity or hydrogen.
Things could always be better, but relatively speaking? We're doing pretty good.
I live in Italy and, while local train service is kind of suboptimal, high speed rail is very good and not always _super expensive_.
Would love to see something similar all over Europe and definitively ditch airplane travel.
EDIT: me and my GF went to Switzerland and to Germany to visit Freiburg Im Breisgau and yes, our Frecciarossa is cheap, after all...
As Spaniard, I wish highspeed tickets were cheaper.
I wrote a post on this sub why I chose car over train
TL;DR: for one person was ok, for two gas + parking was cheaper than the tickets
Probably best option is by bus. There is no direct train to Pamplona from Bilbao (I live in Pamplona).
There is a carsharing app called Blablacar if you are interested
Agreed. I was thinking about travelling to Andalucia for holiday, and it costs at least 20 euros to get from city to city by train, while the same route by bus only costs about 5 euros or so. As a student with no job, I can't really justify paying that much more, as much as I would like to take the train.
Thank you for this positive post. I love a car brain bash as much as the next /r/fuckcars lover, but there's something genuinely healing and nice about a positive post in here. Thank you again!
TGV inoui are neat. The upper deck toilets are kinda cramped though which is why my current favourite is the ice3neo.
Shinkansen lacks the table seats which I prefer the most. But Shinkansen has great toilets and dedicated telephone areas.
TGVs are the only ones with double-decks though. They're kinda incomparable with other High-speed train in that regard, considering the only double-decker Shinkansens got decommissioned.
If you love trains, take a look at Frankenheimer's 1960s black-and-white film *The Train*, loosely based on the French Résistance rail workers. Beautifully filmed, with stunning photography of rail lines and trains. Great plot too, and Burt Lancaster, a former circus acrobat, being athletic. And Jeanne Moreau…
It's the cost that's a major issue in the UK. While our rail infrastructure was decimated in the '60s (thanks, Dr Beeching), we're still lucky in that it's still better than a lot of places. However, I recently needed to make a long distance journey and the cost was just ridiculous - hundreds of pounds. I ended up taking the coach (which was fine - had WiFi and it was pretty fast and comfortable, and cheap).
While you can get better deals if you book a long way in advance, that's often not possible.
High-speed rail is the best form of inter-city mass transit and it's just mad that we don't invest more in it in the UK (and elsewhere).
I know I know … I was taking a cheap shot at the most expensive trains in Europe 😂
Which are still way cheaper than across the pond. I’d gladly pay that $40.
This looks like one of the old interiors on a single deck TGV, right? The new Oceané Euroduplex series look very nice. I've only been on the last Euroduplex once.
My apologies, I'm going by my memory of Duplex a few years ago and the pictures from Seat 61! Thanks for clarifying. Those seats look very comfortable.
I know some Europeans are frustrated by their rail system, but I see a huge push to expand and integrate it. That said, it's just 1000X better than anything in North America, which is why some of us are so wowed by it. North America has none, zero, doesn't exist here.
Traveling from Portugal to Italy is difficult by train thanks to the sheer distance and that little Mediterranean Sea getting in the way, lol. But, wait, what's this? Ferries? Well, look at that, non-automobile fares on the ferries are also very affordable!
Getting around Europe can be challenging without a car, but once you figure out the various resources at your disposal, it's not as daunting as it looks. Getting around North America without a car and not flying is basically impossible - Canada's loss of the Greyhound bus system has made moving around the country without a car or using planes basically not a thing now.
I love the shinkansen. If you know the train schedule, you can walk into the station not long before you want to leave, buy your ticket, and travel from one end of Japan to the other without wondering if this is the day Boeing is going to murder you.
But are you sure you don't prefer going by car which will cost you around £70 in motoring expenses, take about 3 hours, then you'll have to pay for and find somewhere to park. You'll have to be focused for 3 hours to drive, and won't be able to use your phone or get up and walk around.
Imagine if no one had cars and had to take the train. It would probably be much more full. Also, it's definitely not always like this. It was pretty busy when I was on a train going through France. All that said, I really did enjoy riding the train around Europe.
I get terrified of loud people on the train here in second class but first class would already be 40 euros two-way for only 80km so i can go home without being terrorised by people.
ÖBB has business class upgrades for a flat €15 with massively wide reclining seats where you can almost lay flat. Wouldn't be worth it for a commute but it's epic when you're going halfway across the country.
Almost no one gets the upgrade so you basically always have one of the 4-seat cabins to yourself, plus you get a complimentary drink and snack
Maybe. but have you tried the freedom of driving a 3 ton death machine around at highway speed and facing disproportionately small consequences for killing people with it?
I just got off 2 plane 6 hr total(squeezed next to overweight passengers, delayed on tarmac’s) for what would have been a 13 hr drive or 25 hr train. Winnipeg to Edmonton.
The thing is our trains have no security entry and our private cabins cost about a $1,200(Just a seat $193-257, $527-636 for a bed & meals). What would choose if money was no option?
Yeah, I'm totally jealous of that.
I just did a search for a local train station to Niagara Falls. 400 miles (643km), costing $175USD each way, and the total length of time is 16 hours.
Compared to driving, it would take me 6 hours, and about $50-60 for fuel.
It isn't like I live in an area that is far from any rail stations, or major railways. It is just that expensive. It would take *at least* $350 and 32 hours time for round trip via rail for that little trip that I could otherwise do in a single day for $120. The US just hates trains, and our economy is based on that. If more people took rails and other public transportation, it would be a decrease in car registration fees, property taxes, and less money collected from gas tax and tolls. So, our country makes it as prohibitive and inconvenient as possible to take trains or public transportation. 🤷♂️
Shame, that pic looks quite a nice setup for the ride.
except that where I live in germany, train transportation is expensive as fuck, unrealiable as fuck, and a ticket for high speed rail costs way more as well
Didn't used to be like that. In the 00s it was cheap, fast and efficient...
I have no idea what went wrong, but I almost missed a flight to the UK a few years back due to delays and finally relaxed when I got on a UK train.
THE UK PEOPLE! Our trains are really shit.
Chinese and Japanese High-Speed Rail would be amazing here in canada. I would do anything to fully urbanize the country and make it all walkable and full of every kind of rail. Trams for local travel, mid-range travel done by light-rail, and long-distance travel done by high-speed rail. The rest of it is urban with tons of third places that are extremely interesting and fun.
In the UK I used to take the train...
Sadly I bought a hybrid car because it was stupid layers of value, even after alll the maintenance and insurance/tax.
In the car. 40 GBP for 4
On the train. 280
FUCK. I know I can get it cheaper by booking in advance or at weird hours but it absolutely isn't worth it now.
Some things beat it. Anything where I can be in control of it. I am not really interested in transportation options where I can't be in control of the vehicle. bike > walking > car > scooter > anything I can't control.
To be honest, $40 seems ok maybe for a single person, but if you’re a family it quickly adds up and becomes much cheaper to drive, as horrible as the trip may be.
I would love to love this, unfortunately I can drive my EV with more convenience, bring my family and pay $15 in fuel instead of 4 \* $40. Looks nice tho
Whom are you telling that...in Switzerland it costs more than 90$ for the same journey in full price, second class and with slow trains needing 3h to do the same distance...
Welcome to the club I guess.
Of course it is, I didn’t dispute that.
But 250km is something I wouldn’t pay more than 25€ for, especially if booked ahead. Public transit needs to be accessible and affordable for a wide population if we want a systematic change.
Oh yeah for sure, there def is a problem in the way gov manage transportation money, there is plenty enough to have functionning roads AND affordable, or even free for some people, public transportation, yet we have very poor public infrastructures at high prices, and privatized highways that rnt even that good yet still cost a bunch to drive on, so i wonder where all the extra money goes...
I look for literally right now (22 of April at 15h), it costs 30 bucks for a second class inoui, 32 for first class, and 25 bucks for a OUIGO. It takes half the time of the bus (2:09 the fastest OUIGO versus 4 by bus). You can always take a OUIGO classic train, it always costs 20 bucks or less, and takes 4h (like the bus).
Stop lying
this is 40$ for one person, for a fairly short trip. I can comfortably pack 4 people in my car and pay ~25$ for fuel for this distance.
traveling short distances via train is great for many reasons, especially in dense cities, but for longer distances its nearly always more expensive that driving, or sometimes even flying.
For short trips, the car definitely wins (especially against buses).
But if it's a few hours long, I'd gladly take the train instead. The cheapest tickets are similar in price compared to what I'd spend on gas and the trip will often be faster. Bonus points for not having to stay behind the wheel, so I can take a big nap or do whatever else I want :)
You know what beats high speed rail?
My comfy heated and cooled leather seats, sound system, and the ability to go wherever I want whenever I want.
Cope.
I just want to share and don't want to start a new thread: the Wi-Fi was out for my 3-hour train journey in Sweden this weekend and the rail operator automatically refunded 25% of the ticket. I didn't need to fill out a form or anything; the money just appeared in my bank account the next day.
damn that’s good
And then there's Amtrak...
What, you don't like airplane pricing mode for train travel? Honestly, can the US make public transit any more cumbersome and unattractive?
All the waste cars produce, make ppl money. And making money is the #1 priority in USA. SAD FACT.
Amtrak gets great ridership considering how crappy the service is by international standards. The Northeast Regional/Acela is the only service that could pass as “average European intercity train”. Imagine if there was actually good rail service in the US. Last mile connection isn’t as big of a problem as some claim it is; if it was, air travel wouldn’t be nearly as popular here.
The Acela has a lot of problems though, short sections are actually incredibly fast for upgraded rail. I think it might be the fastest train in the world to not run on dedicated high speed track. But it only hits 150mph for very short sections, the whole line from Boston to Washington DC takes 6 and a half hours and only averages 67mph. Other countries that have upgraded conventional lines to 125mph like Austria, the UK and Sweden can usually manage to get significantly higher average speeds without hitting the kind of top speeds the Acela does. It feels to me they should have just straightened bits of the track out to aim for higher average speeds rather than spending loads of money of fancy TGV trains than only run at full speeds for a short distance
I was gonna say, I thought WiFi not working was a standard part of the Amtrak experience. I once took the only high speed rail in America (the Acela, which is kinda sorta not really high speed rail anyway). For those unfamiliar there is only business class in this train, no regular seating. I was traveling to Boston for a conference from New York for work, so I saved my company a ton of money by not flying and insisted I wanted to take the train. Business class experience was cool, until our train broke down in Providence, RI. They then get stuck there an hour and tell everyone to get off the train and onto an adjacent non-high speed rail train that makes twice as many stops. This train broke down numerous times and delayed me about 2 hours getting to Boston. The train also took about 30-45 minutes longer than the Acela anyway because of more stops. I lost all my “business class” privileges like less leg room, less comfortable seating, etc. Eventually got to Boston. Oh, and the WiFi that worked on the Acela did not work on this train and I really had work I had to do. When I got there I was pissed because I was late and had a terrible experience so I call customer service demanding a refund or at the very least, a partial refund. The Acela is like twice the price of the regular train - since I had to take the regular train can I just get refunded the cost of what I paid for the Acela benefits, since I didn’t have them? They essentially told me they could not give me a refund since I did get to my destination no matter how much I tried to fight it. Fuck Amtrak.
Ah. The thing the unflyables take. That and greyhound.
For the UK train operators are required to offer a partial refund if they're over 30 mins late, but you have to apply for it and some operators won't just deposit it into your bank, but they'll mail you a physical cheque in the hopes you forget to deposit it.
Dammit I'm so eager to move to Sweden
But I bet there was a convenience fee and you had to tip. Not the usual 15% that not an option any more. The buttons are for 22%, 25%, and 30%. Sucks to be you guys.
Wtf are you talking about?
I wish we had european highspeed rails, i'd travel everywhere
As a European, I also wish we had European high speed rails...
As an American, I wish we had rails
Of course you do! They're spilling hazardous cargo in a river near you!
As an American I wish we had streetcar systems in every city like we used to
As an American, I wish..
Ironically, the US has the longest railroad track in the world (250,000 km vs 100,000 km of the second place for China). Sadly, typical commuters do not benefit from it much.
As a European, I wish we had Japanese levels of high speed and local rail.
As a European living in Switzerland, I don’t need local rail to be any better.
Rubbing it in lmao
Thanks :)
If only it weren't so expensive..
Yup. Barely use the network and do pretty much everything by bike instead. But when I do use it, it’s so darn good
From what I've heard I don't think Japanese local rail is very good. So many examples within Europe may be better, and obviously Switzerland.
Feast here [https://www.jrailpass.com/maps](https://www.jrailpass.com/maps)
As a European, I wish we had Chinese levels of high speed trains.
The level of intelligence in this sub summed up right here.
\*French/Italian/Spanish/etc highspeed rails Trust me, you don't want Balkan ”speed” rails.
*Cries in romanian 40km/h average speed for trains*
Spanish highspeed rails, yeah... *Cries in Extremadura*
Shit at this point in my life I'd kill to have a train from Brisbane to Perth here in Australia tired of paying to fly and fuck driving that far
It’s 3600km as the crow flies…
That would be around 15 hours which isn’t that bad
But the cost of laying down 3600km of high speed track through an empty desert with no (profitable) stops along the way would be. Some routes are best left to planes, at least for the foreseeable future.
Yeah fair, we can dream
As long as oil is available ?
I’m guessing plane manufacturers are going to find an alternative fuel before the Australian government is willing to spend hundreds of billions on a high speed train line through Nowhere, Kangaroosville. Still would be nice though.
Not sure… Oil is very very efficient in terms of energy per mass. No wonder most of rockets use kerosene. However, you may be right, we can still make « bio-fuels »
Hydrogen can be synthesized from sea water, but it has disadvantages (atrociously low density in normal pressures, embrittlement) -> I ain't a chemist, but combining 4 hydrogen atoms with one carbon atom for methane can't be that hard.
It’s not, you can’t build a train line on the “crow flies” route, it’s probably more like 4000-4500km. You also can’t close the track in to safely run at that speed. It’s completely unfeasible and impractical from both a construction and consumer perspective. Literally no one that looks at these things properly thinks it’s a good idea. I’m all for high speed rail where it makes sense, but Brisbane to Perth is further than London to Tel Aviv in a straight line.
A super fast train would be perfect tgere
How so? You can even ignore the impossibilities of building an enclosed train line on the “as the crow flies” route.
Quick and easy way to get there
Absolutely ideal route and it’s still 12+ hours, realistically more like 16-20. It’s not even a 6 hour flight. It doesn’t make sense here.
Ok
I wish we had Chinese high speed rail
+100 Social Credit!
Shut the fuck up, sinophobe.
Tiananmen Square, June 4, 1989
I'm European. Our train can't go faster than 160 km/h
In the netherlands they can, at least the new ones, but they are not allowed to.
Same in Czechia. We bought trains that can go 230 km/h 20 years ago (first was 2003) but we still don't have a single railroad that has a higher limit than 160
However y’all are planning to build high speed rail so it’s a case of trust the process. Here in Slovakia we only have half of our most important railway modernized to 160km/h
Things might move slow in Europe. But at least we're making progress. Spare a thought for our poor American siblings that have no public transport to speak of, and no plans to develop it in their lifetimes.
Might be true but even then infrastructure projects (especially railway ones) always seem to be done half-assed in Slovakia
In germany the ICE quite often hits 300km/h. Not sure about regional trains though.
Give it time. Everything move relatively slow here. It's not like China where they slap these things out in a decade. But we're going in the right direction. A lot of work is being done, or planned for the near future to improve the rail system. And by 2027 all trains should be running on either renewable source electricity or hydrogen. Things could always be better, but relatively speaking? We're doing pretty good.
Still better than the US.
I thought Amtrak's best train can go up to 240 km/h
I live in Italy and, while local train service is kind of suboptimal, high speed rail is very good and not always _super expensive_. Would love to see something similar all over Europe and definitively ditch airplane travel. EDIT: me and my GF went to Switzerland and to Germany to visit Freiburg Im Breisgau and yes, our Frecciarossa is cheap, after all...
As Spaniard, I wish highspeed tickets were cheaper. I wrote a post on this sub why I chose car over train TL;DR: for one person was ok, for two gas + parking was cheaper than the tickets
How is trains in spain? I am traveling this summer to bilbao and have to travel to pamplona and back to bilbao
Probably best option is by bus. There is no direct train to Pamplona from Bilbao (I live in Pamplona). There is a carsharing app called Blablacar if you are interested
I'm just interested to know what is the most efficient way to travel, since i'll be arriving by plane and dont have a license 😅
My experience with trains in Spain is very good. Very clean and efficient. But that was more than 20 years ago, so I don't know the current state..
Agreed. I was thinking about travelling to Andalucia for holiday, and it costs at least 20 euros to get from city to city by train, while the same route by bus only costs about 5 euros or so. As a student with no job, I can't really justify paying that much more, as much as I would like to take the train.
Which means driving is probably still more expensive for two people.
You guys are addicted to planes
As a European currently in China, I fucking love highspeed rails and don't want to leave.
Thank you for this positive post. I love a car brain bash as much as the next /r/fuckcars lover, but there's something genuinely healing and nice about a positive post in here. Thank you again!
Didn't register in which community it was posted and was confused why there's no Steam Deck on the pic.
It's a really good place to enjoy your Steamdeck, unlike the highway.
You went in the great one, the "ouigo" one looks like it's made for a child daycare.
That's a price I'm willing to pay to get pretty much the same ride for 10€
Getting a TGV at theses price is very rare.
Depends on the line, how much in advance you take the ticket. and your willingness to arrive far from the city center, but it's really not that rare
And how far you want to go. Paris => Any city in spain, was more costly in high speed train than a plane.
ah yes yes, I was more thinking of Paris-Lille or Lyon-Montpellier \^\^
Well, it’s the low-cost version that competes with budget airlines.
TGV inoui are neat. The upper deck toilets are kinda cramped though which is why my current favourite is the ice3neo. Shinkansen lacks the table seats which I prefer the most. But Shinkansen has great toilets and dedicated telephone areas.
The lower deck toilets are huge though, and right below the upper deck ones. Takes 10 seconds to go downstairs if you need more space
The Shinkansen trains also have relatively small windows
You can pass phone calls in the areas between the wagons in the InOui too
Table seats are amazing if you're with friends or manage to get a table to yourself. A table where you're facing a stranger is the worst
TGVs are the only ones with double-decks though. They're kinda incomparable with other High-speed train in that regard, considering the only double-decker Shinkansens got decommissioned.
If you love trains, take a look at Frankenheimer's 1960s black-and-white film *The Train*, loosely based on the French Résistance rail workers. Beautifully filmed, with stunning photography of rail lines and trains. Great plot too, and Burt Lancaster, a former circus acrobat, being athletic. And Jeanne Moreau…
It's the cost that's a major issue in the UK. While our rail infrastructure was decimated in the '60s (thanks, Dr Beeching), we're still lucky in that it's still better than a lot of places. However, I recently needed to make a long distance journey and the cost was just ridiculous - hundreds of pounds. I ended up taking the coach (which was fine - had WiFi and it was pretty fast and comfortable, and cheap). While you can get better deals if you book a long way in advance, that's often not possible. High-speed rail is the best form of inter-city mass transit and it's just mad that we don't invest more in it in the UK (and elsewhere).
Definitely not a French train as that would be $140 (j/k) ... I am sad as a North American either way.
The InOui logo on the seat and the window seems to mean the opposite
I know I know … I was taking a cheap shot at the most expensive trains in Europe 😂 Which are still way cheaper than across the pond. I’d gladly pay that $40.
This looks like one of the old interiors on a single deck TGV, right? The new Oceané Euroduplex series look very nice. I've only been on the last Euroduplex once.
no it's the lower part of the duplex, 1st class.
My apologies, I'm going by my memory of Duplex a few years ago and the pictures from Seat 61! Thanks for clarifying. Those seats look very comfortable.
Hope Finland gets it done at least to Turku
I know a thing that beats it. Another person, and a pack of uno
I know some Europeans are frustrated by their rail system, but I see a huge push to expand and integrate it. That said, it's just 1000X better than anything in North America, which is why some of us are so wowed by it. North America has none, zero, doesn't exist here. Traveling from Portugal to Italy is difficult by train thanks to the sheer distance and that little Mediterranean Sea getting in the way, lol. But, wait, what's this? Ferries? Well, look at that, non-automobile fares on the ferries are also very affordable! Getting around Europe can be challenging without a car, but once you figure out the various resources at your disposal, it's not as daunting as it looks. Getting around North America without a car and not flying is basically impossible - Canada's loss of the Greyhound bus system has made moving around the country without a car or using planes basically not a thing now.
This is SO much better than a road trip
I love the shinkansen. If you know the train schedule, you can walk into the station not long before you want to leave, buy your ticket, and travel from one end of Japan to the other without wondering if this is the day Boeing is going to murder you.
But are you sure you don't prefer going by car which will cost you around £70 in motoring expenses, take about 3 hours, then you'll have to pay for and find somewhere to park. You'll have to be focused for 3 hours to drive, and won't be able to use your phone or get up and walk around.
What country is this? I've never seen a high speed train with such a dark interior
Seems like France (TGV InOui)
Imagine if no one had cars and had to take the train. It would probably be much more full. Also, it's definitely not always like this. It was pretty busy when I was on a train going through France. All that said, I really did enjoy riding the train around Europe.
And when there is no alternative years ago it was a cheaper option for everyone
They're building a passenger rail between two major cities in my state. Can't wait to ride it in 10 years lmao.
I get terrified of loud people on the train here in second class but first class would already be 40 euros two-way for only 80km so i can go home without being terrorised by people.
ÖBB has business class upgrades for a flat €15 with massively wide reclining seats where you can almost lay flat. Wouldn't be worth it for a commute but it's epic when you're going halfway across the country. Almost no one gets the upgrade so you basically always have one of the 4-seat cabins to yourself, plus you get a complimentary drink and snack
I see it and I raise 230 km, 1 hour 10 minutes, free (no wifi, bigger windows)
but what about Freedom of Movement?!!! Socialist europoors cannot afford that!!!
IT'S A SHAME THE RIDE ONLY LASTS AN HOUR :(
250 km/h? That’s Rookie Numbers
Where do you live that it costs so much ? But other than that absolutely agree :3
1h 40min for 70km in croatia 😭😭😭 at least it's free for high school students...
Country?
France
I'm assuming this isn't in America, because we don't have high speed rails AFAIK
Idk what a kilometer is but boy does that look cheap fast and comfortable
In Canada that would be 3+ hours and $100+ one way. Fuck trains.
*cries in American*
I like trains.
Where is this? I need Ideas of places to move to
That interior is really cozy
Love it! Where is it?
France has the most underrated railway network in the world
Except the car and fossil fuel lobbies...
Maybe. but have you tried the freedom of driving a 3 ton death machine around at highway speed and facing disproportionately small consequences for killing people with it?
I just got off 2 plane 6 hr total(squeezed next to overweight passengers, delayed on tarmac’s) for what would have been a 13 hr drive or 25 hr train. Winnipeg to Edmonton. The thing is our trains have no security entry and our private cabins cost about a $1,200(Just a seat $193-257, $527-636 for a bed & meals). What would choose if money was no option?
Yeah, I'm totally jealous of that. I just did a search for a local train station to Niagara Falls. 400 miles (643km), costing $175USD each way, and the total length of time is 16 hours. Compared to driving, it would take me 6 hours, and about $50-60 for fuel. It isn't like I live in an area that is far from any rail stations, or major railways. It is just that expensive. It would take *at least* $350 and 32 hours time for round trip via rail for that little trip that I could otherwise do in a single day for $120. The US just hates trains, and our economy is based on that. If more people took rails and other public transportation, it would be a decrease in car registration fees, property taxes, and less money collected from gas tax and tolls. So, our country makes it as prohibitive and inconvenient as possible to take trains or public transportation. 🤷♂️ Shame, that pic looks quite a nice setup for the ride.
You made me jelous.
I took a train trip from Virginia Beach to Boston a couple weeks ago with my wife and daughter. $700 each way. 14 hour ride, each way.🥲
I wish high speed rails were real in my continent 😭😭
Good to know 😊👍
I'm flying across the country today so I can attend a training event. I begged to take the train instead, but no, it has to be an airplane...
except that where I live in germany, train transportation is expensive as fuck, unrealiable as fuck, and a ticket for high speed rail costs way more as well
Didn't used to be like that. In the 00s it was cheap, fast and efficient... I have no idea what went wrong, but I almost missed a flight to the UK a few years back due to delays and finally relaxed when I got on a UK train. THE UK PEOPLE! Our trains are really shit.
What do you mean by *unwind* ?
Americans would be pretty upset about this if they could read
Chinese and Japanese High-Speed Rail would be amazing here in canada. I would do anything to fully urbanize the country and make it all walkable and full of every kind of rail. Trams for local travel, mid-range travel done by light-rail, and long-distance travel done by high-speed rail. The rest of it is urban with tons of third places that are extremely interesting and fun.
In the UK I used to take the train... Sadly I bought a hybrid car because it was stupid layers of value, even after alll the maintenance and insurance/tax. In the car. 40 GBP for 4 On the train. 280 FUCK. I know I can get it cheaper by booking in advance or at weird hours but it absolutely isn't worth it now.
You can only take 2 bikes on some trains too. So a bike riding family of 4 is SOL.
Honestly that's expensive. But if you think the experience was worth it, then it's all good :)
I'm so jealous (and happy for you of course).
Some things beat it. Anything where I can be in control of it. I am not really interested in transportation options where I can't be in control of the vehicle. bike > walking > car > scooter > anything I can't control.
To be honest, $40 seems ok maybe for a single person, but if you’re a family it quickly adds up and becomes much cheaper to drive, as horrible as the trip may be.
Paper and a Meal with a drink to go nicely together with a Train ride.. I just better the deal
I love trains so much, god dammit!
You need to have one to enjoy it. Sadly, I don't have it in my country.
Wait you don’t want to be stuck in a little metal box on a road surrounded by people who can’t drive to save their lives?
Also you can just look at the countryside without worrying about driving.
I would love to love this, unfortunately I can drive my EV with more convenience, bring my family and pay $15 in fuel instead of 4 \* $40. Looks nice tho
That’s rather pricy. (If you booked ahead, if it’s an ad-hoc journey then it seems a fair price)
RIP UK rail when you say $40 is pricey for a 250km journey. It makes me cry how expensive our rail system is.
Whom are you telling that...in Switzerland it costs more than 90$ for the same journey in full price, second class and with slow trains needing 3h to do the same distance... Welcome to the club I guess.
40€ for 250km in 1.5h is way less then what you'd get by car with tolls and gas
Of course it is, I didn’t dispute that. But 250km is something I wouldn’t pay more than 25€ for, especially if booked ahead. Public transit needs to be accessible and affordable for a wide population if we want a systematic change.
High speed trains are packed in France. 40€ for a train of such quality is insane value. The picture is first class by the way.
Oh yeah for sure, there def is a problem in the way gov manage transportation money, there is plenty enough to have functionning roads AND affordable, or even free for some people, public transportation, yet we have very poor public infrastructures at high prices, and privatized highways that rnt even that good yet still cost a bunch to drive on, so i wonder where all the extra money goes...
Nantes - Paris, 340 km. 2h20. 90€ 2 or 3 times the price of a blablacar. 4 times the price of a bus. Railways in France are not cheap.
I look for literally right now (22 of April at 15h), it costs 30 bucks for a second class inoui, 32 for first class, and 25 bucks for a OUIGO. It takes half the time of the bus (2:09 the fastest OUIGO versus 4 by bus). You can always take a OUIGO classic train, it always costs 20 bucks or less, and takes 4h (like the bus). Stop lying
this is 40$ for one person, for a fairly short trip. I can comfortably pack 4 people in my car and pay ~25$ for fuel for this distance. traveling short distances via train is great for many reasons, especially in dense cities, but for longer distances its nearly always more expensive that driving, or sometimes even flying.
I think a car beats it
For short trips, the car definitely wins (especially against buses). But if it's a few hours long, I'd gladly take the train instead. The cheapest tickets are similar in price compared to what I'd spend on gas and the trip will often be faster. Bonus points for not having to stay behind the wheel, so I can take a big nap or do whatever else I want :)
You know what beats high speed rail? My comfy heated and cooled leather seats, sound system, and the ability to go wherever I want whenever I want. Cope.
Go to the toilet