Why don't Americans use rail service?

My last employment was with Amtrak as a contractor. I was a General Manager at the Union Station in Washington, DC.

The biggest problem with Amtrak is the government. It is funded by the U.S. department of Transportation receiving billions a year to operate the old outdated train system.

Guess what! Everyone who is anyone employed by them are really government employees and we all know how these agencies are working. Top that off with all Amtrak Employees are are Railroad Union Workers under the Teamsters Union. All management has been on board since they were old enough to work and now you have a workforce you can't fire, there are no new ideas or even if there were they can't afford to pay for it.

Every politician, or senior management in Washington are treated to first class accommodations up to and including their own personal train car and first class meal service outside what everyone else eats even better than what I would get as a first class paying customer.

Employees are paid at low end depending on years of service $80-100,000.00 a year and this is for the clerk selling you a cup of coffee in the cafe car.

When they purchased the high speed trains they knew they wouldn't even come close to speededubv up the service. The infrastructure, tracks, stations and roadways have not been upgraded to accommodate the speeds of high speed trains.

I'm not a disgruntled employed either. I retired to take care of my terminal I'll wife.

We have the technology to be the best system in the world however, with mismanagement at the top and government using it as their personal shuttle back and forth and the Union Salaries and benefits they operate at a constant deficit.

Amtrak is loosing contracts left and right to European train companies to build the new State high speed railroad systems in there state.

I'm talking billions go into the money pit and you should see how the elite in DC are wined and dined to keep the money pit running.

It's really sad!!!

none of the above... because the American car makers waded war on the rail service and tore up most of the trolleys and rails in the 60-70s for contracts that were more lucrative for them to instal bus routes. Buses make auto manufactures more money but area not as efficient. Bring back an authentic rail service and make it affordable.

First, we are a car culture. People like their independence of having their car with them. Second unless you live in NYC, DC or Chicago most cities do not have a very robust intra-city transit system. Especially out west in places like LA and Las Vegas. In some cities that have a rail system it is only good if you are in the epicenter of the town. You need a method to get there which usually involves driving. Where I live I take the train sometimes from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. However, I can only take it if I know I will return fairly early most of the week its last ride back south is at 8pm.

As for long haul, it takes too long we don't have a real robust train infrastructure like Europe. Europe has ICE and other high speed rail where it is more practical than air. If we did have a good interstate rail system, I would rather take that than the asspain of flying, this is coming from a pilot.

Culturally, there is a stigma on mass transit in the west that it is for poor people and that tax dollars are being wasted, despite the fact that the tax money for roads far exceeds rail ops.

I would say mainly the lack of reliable scheduling and travel time is a primary reason.

Personally, I think rail travel is great , I live in what they call the northeast corridor. Boston, Ny, Dc. I think rail travel doesnt get used for the simple fact of cost compared to travel time. For me I can jump on an amtrak out of Ny & be in baltimore in 2 1/2 hrs city to city, no airports to wait in security lines, no hassel.
I really cant speak for other parts of country, I just dont have the knowledge or the exsperience...

My family uses it. We travel between my sisters house in Maryland and Virginia Beach a few times a year. It is relatively cheap, and the schedule is convenient. We have not use it to travel anywhere else though. Having used the train system in Germany quite regularly I think the biggest problem here in America is how spread out our country is and the lack of good public transportation in this country. For instance. You can get a train to Newport News or Norfolk easily. You cannot get a local service like the U-Bahn or whatever it is called to get around once you get here. So you are basically stuck using a taxi or uber or something like it. Taking the bus here is confusing and has routes mostly in the lower income areas. Many of the smaller metropolitan area in America are like that. Only the big cities have reliable subways. Therefore most people prefer the convenience of the car as opposed to rail for shorter trips.

I suspect the main reason united states hasn't upgraded our own train service is because of the airlines. Airline's are big companies and therefore and transportation that can get you across a large portion of the planet is seen a competition. I would prefer trains before airlines but trains station aren't as frequent as airports and it take longer since we haven't upgraded or trains to more faster and efficient versions.

The US government does not know how to do trains. I live 3 miles away from a New Mexico Rail Runner train station. The Rail Runner goes from Belen NM (just south of Albuquerque) to Santa Fe NM. It was built by Federal and State taxpayer funds for approximately 400 million dollars and has a 10-20 million dollar annual operating budget. With a ridership of between 1,000 and 2,500 rides per day. Ticket costs do not cover operating costs, so state taxes make up the difference. The problem is that to go anywhere on the line it takes longer by train and costs the same as it does to drive. Then the stations were built away from the shopping and sightseeing areas. So, you need to walk, take a bus, or a take taxi once you arrive. Then the return trains are spaced at inconvenient times (the train does not run 24 hours a day) However, the stations are well within walking distances to State Office buildings in Santa Fe and the routes are conveniently timed for State Employees going to and from work. Not surprisingly the vast majority of ridership is State Employees who live in Albuquerque and commute to Santa Fe. In essence the rural taxpayers are paying to reduce State Employees daily travel costs.

I was in Germany during the 80s and the one thing you noticed was that housing was pretty cloistered together thereby making RR and Mass Transit easier to accomodate. Personally I like reliable mass transit but I am not even sure if our politicians could effectively manage a rail or competent bus system.

Many neighborhoods are also dangerous and that is always a consideration. Have you ever seen the Port Authority in NY? Just too many demographical issues to overcome.

Let's compare popular modes of transportation using a route I have to travel frequently for TDY to my BDE HQ:
A) Air travel. I recently flew from Minneapolis/St Paul International to Midway via Southwest Airlines.
Cost: $79 plus $102/ day for car rental.
Time: Including driving to the airport and standing in lines, about 3 hours.
B) Amtrak. Empire Builder route to Chicago.
Cost: $87 plus $102/ day for rental car.
Time: I don't know about time in lines, but using just the time aboard the train, just under 8 hours.
C) POV. From my front door to my BDE's front door.
Cost: Using gasoline at $2.28/ gallon (the price at the end of the block as I type this), $63.40 with my car's EPA estimated 31 MPG.
Time: 6 Hours, 38 minutes, according to mapquest and driving the speed limit.

So, in the simplest terms, Amtrak is not the best choice for time or cost. It takes longer than any other mode of transportation AND it is more expensive. The only reason that is logical to choose this mode (aside from the fact the Army would be paying for it) is the novelty of riding the train. I suppose the scenery would be slightly different than driving a car. I suppose you could be productive and do work while riding in the train.

If Amtrak can ever figure out how to build high-speed rail and not have it not cost a mint, I would consider it. Until then, I'm driving if I have a choice.

None of the above...

Why don't we ride trains? Because it SUCKS as compared to driving a car assuming that driving doesn't in some way suck even worse.

Of the various places/assignments I've had, this (Wash DC / Northern VA) is the first where rail was even available, much less viable.

As a somewhat OCD-challenged individual, I did the math based on a set of experience-derived factors for time and distance and calculated my break even point was gas priced at about $3.50 per gallon. For a long time, I rode the VRE/metro with a great number of fellow travelers - but it was generally predictable and reliable at roughly 1.5 hours one-way. As compared to driving which could range from about 50 minutes Saturday morning at 0430 to four hours Friday evening at 1630.

The train was fine - got me there (most of the time) when I expected, for a predictable cost, with a predictable schedule of pickup/dropoff. That said, I spent almost as much time waiting for trains as I did commuting - just to be safe. Whether it was making sure to take an early bus to get to the train on time or whatever - it was a never-ending hassle and a time sink of standing around waiting for disgruntled transportation operators to do their job. For what it's worth, most bus drivers I've met couldn't care less that they are running 10 minutes behind - which translates into me missing a train and having to wait 40 minutes for the next.

Now, with the HOT lanes (toll for those not from here), I get a predictable sub-1 hour trip via car every trip. They would pretty much have to let me ride for free to beat that...

All that said, I'm very much looking forward to checking off the train ride through Alaska that is on my bucket list.... To be clear, driving that would suck very much worse than riding the train (since there are no roads).