'NEC here, I don't know that feel';

'>>1992027
I see both sides of it in Seattle. The Sounder regional trains are great up to Vancouver and down to Eugene. Then there's the Empire Bungler.
>want to go to Spokane
>check train schedules
>one (1) train each way per day
>depart 4:55pm
>arrive 12:37am
>after all the hotel checkin desks are closed
>fuck you unless you've got family nearby
It's not like there's no demand, they run BUSES from Seattle to Spokane and back, but they can't manage more trains per day because ______?';

'>>1992029
>but they can't manage more trains per day because ______?
they don't have the money
the answer to pretty much every question about amtrak is "they are chronically underfunded"';

'>>1992023
Yesterday I called amtrak customer service to change my ticket because the website kept crashing. The hold music was RnB and a sassy black lady picked up. Truly an american institution.';

'>>1992160
The Civil Rights Act / EEOC creates an effect I call the Shaneequa Event Horizon, where because sassy black women are impossible to "out diversity" (because they vote 96% for Democrats) any federal agency will eventually fill up with them until the agency fails at its core responsibilities and they get outsourced. If this happened to Amtrak and passenger rail got deregulated we'd see a 10x in available trains.';

'>>1992161
If passenger rail got deregulated it would become a shitshow like every other deregulated industry that immediately cuts corners for profit see also Boeing and their ```airplanes'''.';

'>>1992023
is commuting via the hiawatha service at all reasonable or worth it? I want to avoid living in Chicago and Milwaukee seems comfy';

'>>1992161
I don't think there's another board where people are this committed to blaming anything and everything on minorities. Pinch flat? The jews did this. Train delay? Pajeets. Plane crash? It was trannies. Shipwreck? The blacks. Crosstheaded the pedals on your dumpster dive OTS? The blacks again.

Granted I only go on /g/, /ck/, /lgbt/, and /n/. Maybe that's not a full cross section.';

'>>1993792
That's not what deregulations mean.';

'>>1993794
Spending 3 hours a day commuting would probably suck, but it’s doable, the schedules line up with commute times; you get into Chicago at 7:24 AM and leave at either 5 or 8 PM. It would drain your wallet a bit tho, it’s about $50 a day, so a hybrid position where you only go in a couple days or once a week would be ideal.';

'>>1993794
That's still a 90 minute to hour long commute from Milwaukee to Chicago, assuming the train hits exactly when you need it to.';

'>>1992023
>>1992029
>>1992151
there is zero demand. amtrak doesn't make money because no one wants to take 6 times as long to get somewhere as it would take to drive';

'>>1993927
every time frequency on an amtrak service is improved ridership goes up
>>1993796
/n/ is normally level-headed but there's been an influx of /pol/faggots lately
ultra-election tourist ones, too';

'>>1993946
enough to offset the costs? amtrak is perpetually in debt';

'>>1993903
$50 a day sounds brutal, does Amtrak not offer a commuter pass?

>>1993912
yeah but I don't mind 90 minutes on a train, the real issue is reliability. I'd hate to get stuck in Chicago without a car.';

'>>1994042
What a cute femboy, giwtwm';

'>>1994024
why does everyone expect amtrak to run a profit when they don't own the property around their stations? Do we expect tolls to be profitable too?

HK's MTR and Japan's JR are both only profitable because they own the valuable real estate around the stations. if Amtrak could leverage the same they'd be making billions';

'>>1994046
because what is the point of a train that takes 12 times longer to get somewhere than driving does if it is also going to be a money sink on the tax payers?';

'>>1994046
>JR
Built by the government then privatized

>if Amtrak could leverage the same
Doubt they're legally permitted to and even if they could, the chance to buy cheap land remotely close to city centers disappeared decades ago';