7 Reasons Why the United States Needs to Embrace Trains

Over the past few months, I have become a frequent DC-NYC commuter, and though I would love to cut my transit time and risk of getting stuck in traffic, I pay about a third of the cost to take a Greyhound roundtrip from Union Station to Port Authority and back than what I would need to pay to take the Northeast Regional train one way. And I can’t even consider the Acela Express.

The government-subsidized corporation Amtrak is quite frankly out of my league. Meanwhile, it costs 30 euros to hop on a Trenitalia train from Venezia St. Lucia to Milano Centrale. The distance is a bit less, but that’s still less than $40 to go from Venice to Milan.

With the subject of climate change hot on the newsstands (sorry for the pun, I couldn’t resist), what better time to invest in energy efficient and performance efficient transportation?

Here are my top 7 reasons why, quite simply, trains win. No corgis are included in this list.

1. Ideal seating: While the legroom war rages above our heads in airplanes and the promise of leather seats and extra legroom (not to mention the wifi) is often undermined by replacement, non company buses, train seats are quite universally the same. Issues of knee crushing and seat width are limited or nonexistent, and the variation in layout and orientation can account for all preferences.

2. Walkability: The motion of a train on set tracks is much less varied and unpredictable than a bus, allowing stretching and using the restroom in a much more graceful and acceptable fashion than on a bus. And flights, unless you’re flying, for example, Alitalia from Milan and all the Italians gather by the restrooms to discuss life while queuing, trains have much more of standing up culture than a plane.

3. Ease of boarding: Almost late for your train? Run for it. Almost late for a flight? Rebook it ASAP. Making a train involves skillfully dodging other passengers in the station while security and airport size simply don’t work well with being late.

4. Concessions: Dying of hunger? If you find yourself on a bus, you’ll just have to wait the 4.5 hours. Probably while your seat mate is munching on something that looks perfect to you. Airplane? $10 for anything not-peanuts, unless you can sweet talk some Biscoff cookies from the flight attendant. Train? Snack car to the rescue!

5. Table surfaces: Want to write a travel blog or work on something else during your travels? Unless you have excellent lap working and elbow control skills, trains have the best work surface and elbow area.

6. Sustainability: Trains are the most sustainable form of transit of the three. Full stop.

7. Speed & tracks: Trains, even if they are not the TGV or Frecciabianca, are faster than driving. When you consider airport transport time, security, boarding, and flight time, trains are faster than flying as well. Not to mention, having set tracks where only trains can go in comparison to one Lincoln Tunnel for all the vehicles wanting to leave Manhattan eases traffic time as well.

So please, dearest lobbyists, congressional committees on transport, Amtrak, environmental groups, and travelers, let’s work together to get the U.S. to embrace trains. Or at least improve the current costs. And infrastructure.

– written from a Greyhound bus. The author has excellent typing-without-elbowing-her-neighbors skills.