We love traveling by train. Personally, I like the views, comfort, station architecture and locations, connection to history, suitability for laptop work, and people. And, in a time of climate emergency, traveling by train offers a sense of having one foot in the world that is and another foot in the world that ought to be.
A couple weeks ago, while traveling by Amtrak from Boston to Kansas City, I had a video conversation with Prof. Adam Aron of the University of California San Diego, who was coincidentally traveling the same route in the opposite direction on his way to the East Coast for speaking events related to his wonderful new book, The Climate Crisis. This week, I saw on social media that climate scientist and #flyingless supporter Milan Klöwer, along with climate scientist Viktoria Cologna, are right now on their way across the country to California.
So it seems like a good time to collect information and reflections on long-distance train travel for professionals in the United States. Jeb Brooks has a nice YouTube video embedded below, with a well-organized summary of detailed strengths and limitations of travel different options, from coach to roomette to bedroom. Here are my own additional comments and tips, in more random order.
- Enjoy meeting people from different walks of life and regions of the country. Even recognizing the growth of budget flying in recent decades, trains seem still more diverse by economics, race, ethnicity, and lifestyle than planes. For example, Amtrak’s Lakeshore Limited, which I travel frequently, is bustling with Amish families. If you like conversation, trains are more social than planes.
- For work on laptops and cell phone, download some files in advance to smoothly adapt to gaps in internet. Be prepared to switch occasionally from cell phone hotspot to Amtrak WiFi, depending on which seems to work best at a particular time.
- For the best price, choose coach. The prices are competitive with flying. If you travel overnight in coach, bring an eye mask for sleeping, fleece or comfortable jacket, and neck-supporting pillow. For best comfort, choose a roomette. The food comes free and there is a private toilet and a shower down the hall. Personally, I choose coach for overnight travel if I will have an opportunity to rest up afterwards, but I’ll splurge for a roomette if I have professional meetings the next day or if I have been on the road for multiple days.
- Bring fresh fruit and some healthy food. The cafe car offers adequate but highly processed food and beverages.
- For physical comfort, avoidance of back pain, and to reduce a small risk of blood circulation health hazard from sitting too long, be sure to walk around and stretch frequently. Get nice outdoor time every time the public address announces a “smoking break” (ha). But do stay close to the door to avoid missing a train. (I am too chagrined to explain how this lesson was learned, once long ago). Take advantage of this key advantage of trains over planes.
- Be philosophical about train delays. Amtrak is usually but not always on time in the Northeast Corridor. In other regions of the country, delays of a couple hours are common and delays of several hours are possible. You might think it excessive, but I plan for a 2+ hour gap before my first meeting in the northeast and a 6+ hour or overnight gap outside of the northeast.
- Enjoy the low-carbon travel. Most Amtrak trips are in the northeast, where trains run many times daily and are electric, with carbon emissions far lower than flying. Elsewhere in the country, trains typically run once daily and are diesel-powered, with carbon emissions that are still somewhat lower than flying. In a spirit of “skating to where the puck will be,” I am happy to contribute economic demand to the train market, even while advocating for electrification elsewhere.
- Amtrak workers are lovely people, more blunt and sharp-worded than I recall being typical in air travel. They can be more bossy than people in other service sectors such as restaurants. I don’t mind. Amtrak workers are unionized, and Amtrak is not in a competitive market. For me, personally, the non-deferential style has an egalitarian spirit. Trains reflect the world I want to live in.