Trains, sort of
News from New England, Europe, and the Northwest
It’s hard to get excited about US train news when I’m reading world train news, too. But we have to start where we are, and there are some good things on offer in the United States. One that I long to try is the Amtrak USA Rail Pass. $499 for 10 trips within a month, anywhere in the country. Think of it: a chance to go from coast to coast and back again, stopping to see friends and family, with the ease of train travel instead of increasingly unpleasant (and expensive) flight travel. As soon as I can clear a full month, I’ll be doing this, and with luck I’ll soon be able to share someone else’s experience here at Train Time.
This headline echoes my reaction. Here at Train Time, we’re fond of vintage train projects but our focus is modern passenger train service that will replace and improve on car travel.
Train service returning to Torrington, sort of
“For the first time since 1958” is the opening line of an article entitled “Train service returning to Torrington, sort of.”
“The Litchfield County Clipper is exactly the kind of experience the Railroad Museum of New England was built to provide — one that connects people to history, to place, and to the communities along the line,” said RMNE Passenger Operations Manager Orion Newall. “Restoring passenger boarding in Torrington after more than 65 years is a remarkable milestone, made possible through years of preservation work, partnership, and investment in the rail corridor. We’re proud to help bring visitors directly into downtown Torrington and Thomaston, where they can spend the day exploring local shops, restaurants, arts, and attractions while experiencing the region from a truly unique perspective.”
By connecting visitors directly with Torrington’s downtown arts district and small-business community, the Litchfield County Clipper is expected to serve as both a tourism experience and an economic development driver in both communities.
We are thrilled to welcome the return of passenger boarding in Torrington for the first time in decades,” said Torrington Mayor Molly Spino. “With stops at Railroad Square and Market Street Creatives, passengers will experience the creativity, culture, and energy that make Torrington such a unique destination in Northwest Connecticut.”
We wish them luck, but would like to see this turn into a regular passenger service.
Spain is the latest country to ban short-haul flights—but it won’t be the last
This is a great development in Europe, and it’s interesting to consider how it would apply in the US. The problem is that our trains are so very slow. Two and a half hours here is only about 125 miles, but in Europe it might be 3 or 4 times that. People fly between New York and Washington, and New York and Boston, when they could take a train (the busiest routes in the US). These are probably the best equivalent routes. But the US trains take more than 2-1/2 hours.
Spain is the latest country to announce plans to reduce short-haul domestic flights. Following a move from France last year, Spain will bar domestic flights between destinations that are less than 2.5 hours away from each other by train. Last year, France was the first country in the world to implement such a ban.
On paper, this may sound like a jarring move, but in practice, not all of these flight routes will be canceled. Short-haul options will still exist to connect international travelers with their final destinations, for example. Plus, when you think about how much time it takes to arrive early for a flight to get through security—and the fact that most airports are not located in the center of a city, unlike train stations—the total travel time is likely not going to be significantly different.
West Coast train rided for the bucket list
The Cascades train trip is beautiful, and you can read about at the link below. That line is getting new generation carriages, too, which will be doing their first runs this summer. News about the new equipment is here.
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Thank you for featuring my article here, Karen!