Romance of the rails

I’ve ridden the train more times than I can count, yet this is the first time I’ve found myself on an Amtrak train. Offered the chance to head south to my Alma Mater for a choir reunion, I took it: I have not returned to the campus for a good fifteen years or so, and wanted my kids to see where Mommy studied. Of course, with school and orchestra in session, I’ll spend much of the weekend on my own, but I think I can manage eating and sleeping on my own terms.

The problem is, I’ve never been good with distance driving. Any more than a couple of hours, and I tend to veer off the road. So if I was going to Salem, I was going to have to find a different way. There is a range of options, from the Green Tortoise bus (tempting, but they’ve moved from a sturdy bus to charter only), Craig’s List rideshares (no one quite matched up as far as dates were concerned, or they didn’t plan ahead), to flying. I opted out of flying early on. Sure the fare was a bit off-putting, but the whole burning huge amounts of fossil fuel to go 200 miles clinched the deal. As it turns out, I made the right choice: at this writing, Horizon has grounded a goodly number of its fleet for emergency flight inspections, so it’s very likely my flight would have been cancelled. Like any good European, I turned to taking the train.

I am happy to report that the romance of train travel is alive and well. Once in the train, the seats are comfortable, the scenery spectacular, and I can even plug in my laptop. Riding along the Puget Sound, under the new Tacoma Narrows bridge and through Steilacoom and Tacoma’s waterfront make me want to bring the kids along, and get off and explore. The rather large people who struggled up the steps are smiling, comfortable in their seats (“Oh, this is soooo much more comfy than the plane!”), and the elderly couple in front of me are truly relaxed by the end of the trip.

But all is not well. Once again, Europe has it right, and we remain amazingly clueless. The strong point of Euro-train travel is its convenience: buy a ticket anywhere—travel agent, train station, online—and board your train when you get to the station (some countries even let you buy the ticket for the route without specifying a date—you go when you need). If you’re traveling on a busy day or taking a long trip, you could opt for a reserved seat, but that’s about as complex as it gets. Even airlines in this country do this—why not Amtrak?

Now, I did go to Amtrak and book (and pay) online, but my real ticket had to be issued at the station. I tried to use the QuikTrac machine to print out my paid ticket, but it wanted me to insert a credit card. For a paid ticket. Hmm. I wasn’t the only one to be baffled by this, and joined the line for a real person. It took less than a minute for the clerk to print the ticket, once I found one whose computer was working, and then I was instructed to join the queue for my seat assignment. I scratch my head, but it’s the shorter one of the two, so I take it. It takes two conductors with really cool hats to man this booth: one punches my ticket, the other issues me a paper chit that instructs me to sit anywhere in Car 2. Well, that’s one decision taken care of. By this time, the long line for boarding is moving, as they have finally opened the door to the platform—even though the train has been in the station since I arrived half an hour ago. Finally, I think to myself, all I have to do is climb aboard. But once on the platform, I am greeted by yet another line, this time for boarding Car 2 itself. Hmm again. Once in the train, there are plenty of seats, and there is no problem finding a window seat facing forward.

It is my understanding that Amtrak is losing money and ridership. Now, I’m no economist, or even a rocket scientist, but it doesn’t take much to figure out why. If it’s the same amount of hassle as flying (though it’s nice to be able to bring a water bottle and knitting needles on board), and the same amount of time as driving (though admittedly cheaper), then people aren’t going to opt in. Let me buy my ticket online and open up the platform so I can board the train when I get to the station. Not to mention being able to wave to the men in my life as the train pulls out of the station.