TRAVELING BY RAIL

"As a child I found railroad stations exciting, mysterious, and even beautiful, as indeed they often were."
                       
                                                                               - Paul Johnson





There is an allure to trains and train travel which is almost mystical. We've all been raised with the images and sounds of rail systems around the world, from the lonely high-pitched whistle of steam locomotives chugging through the European countryside to the deep-throated honk of Disney's monorails.

L.A.'s Union Station

New York's Grand Central

Yesterday's DAILY ESCAPE featured this photograph of the central train station in Rome, Stazione Termini. Subsequently that image got me to thinking about the variety of train stations around the world, particularly those I have visited and photographed over the years. Like many other of my Travel images, train stations weren't really a focus -- pun unavoidable -- they were interesting sidebars.

Being an American, I was raised with the romance of rail. It's an image highly ingrained into each of us, but one which is only dimly reflected in modern day reality. Unlike Europeans, Americans largely dispensed with rail service with the growth of the auto industry. We embraced our cars, and left the trains behind.

Euro-Speedsters!

However with the 21st century came a tightening of resources, making a returned glance at rail a necessary part of regional and urban planning. Too many cars, not enough oil, overcrowded airports and the relative cost of railroad services have brought about a renaissance of sorts to the industry. Light rail is all the rage in American cities. And even inter-city service is showing renewed possibilities for the weary traveler.

California, usually at the forefront of trends in the States, is building the first true high speed rail service across the state. (It continues to be controversial, primarily to those people who see only outgoing dollars instead of an investment in the state's future.)

The author transiting The Chunnel

For myself, I am convinced in both the viability as well as the desirability of rail service as a major mode of transportation. And not without some experience in the area: as a small boy I (apparently) rode the Japanese bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto and back. Later, in adulthood, were rides on Europe's premier high speed rail systems -- Eurostar, TGV, Thalys and Le Frecce -- as well as trips up  and down the Eastern seaboard aboard Amtrak.

None of this includes the uncounted trips on a variety of subways and light rail systems in cities around the world.

BART, San Francisco

Some day my plan is to take rail trips from Chicago to Portland, from Perth to Sydney, and something -- as yet unfound -- in South America. Each of these promise to be an adventure, and that's what traveling is all about. It's often not about racing to a destination, but the stages and viewscapes in-between.

It's often what you see on your way TO something else that makes an adventure worth having.

And that...is where rail excels.

Train station, Monaco grandeur

Tren Italia

Rain, in Genova

Pic of the Day: HIGH SPEED RAIL

I am a huge fan and proponent of High Speed Rail. It's a very comfortable and convenient way to travel, and certainly beats to heck both standard rail and (most times) the comfort of economy class in an airliner. I've ridden four different systems, and loved each one. The Eurostar, between London and Paris -- through the underwater Channel Tunnel -- is my favorite, but it's France's TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) upon which I've ridden most frequently. I've also made one-way trips on the Thalys between Paris and (ultimately) Amsterdam -- with a stopover in Brussels -- and the Frecciargento between Rome and Venice.

As a very small boy living in Japan, I rode the Shinkansen....the world's first standard HSR system.

Being a proponent of HSR trains I'm very quite pleased and excited my home state of California is building the first true American High Speed Rail system.

Below is the Gare du Nord station in Paris. A bright red Thalys train is on the left, with two silver bullets of the TGV behind. 

(BTW - You can see the age of this shot -- that's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace being advertised on the billboards against the far wall.)

High Speed Rail. The OOONLY way to Fly!

"I miss riding those fast trains in Japan... 'cause I'd never seen a train that fast in my life."
-  Ike Turner


I am often disappointed by the arguments people put forth regarding the expansion of rail service in this country. Particularly opposing High Speed Rail (HSR).

TT - Under the Channel Tunnel

As you may be aware, California has begin building what will eventually become a statewide High Speed Rail network not too dissimilar to the existing platforms in Europe and Asia. The primary backbone, of course, will run between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles metropolitan area. If done properly, it promises to revolutionize the way Californians travel in the same way HSR has revolutionized travel in Europe and, particularly, Japan. If done properly -- again that caveat -- it will create a far more efficient and yet still timely way to transit between the state's two largest urban areas and many spots between and around them.

Italy's Frecciargento

I say "if done properly" because there are still those voices who refuse (or simply don't want) to understand the benefits of such a system and are hellbent on stopping or at least modifying the plans.

Some of them are simply NIMBY. Don't want a project -- any kind of project -- let alone something with a bunch of zeroes in the price tag. They're not opposed to HSR, they're opposed to anything which costs money.

Then, there are those who are concerned it's too big, too expensive, too invasive. That it will take monies away from other projects they like better. These people, some of them driven by heartfelt, if misguided, opposition based on a misunderstanding of the economic model, or perhaps from a rejection of the systems' projected return on investment on a MACRO level, really truly want to halt the development of the train regardless of the benefits it will likely bring (based upon the success of the models in Europe and Asia).

(By Macro I mean the economic impact as a whole, not simply "it costs this much to build and this much to operate". A true cost models includes sustained earnings and economic impact on a greater scale. A great example is the money-losing CW television network. The parent companies lose a lot of money on it, however make MORE money from the programming they produce and sell to it that offsets those losses. Taken as a macro, the network pays back significant dividends to its owners despite losing money.)

Paris' Gare du Nord Station

Others have a much more insidious agenda, and these are the folks who stand to lose financially from such a system. Because trains are far more economical per passenger mile, they are a threat to the gasoline and automotive industry while thrives based upon continued gas consumption of vehicles between California's major cities. A vast network of gas stations, automotive repair, sales and maintenance exists. Airlines are fighting tooth and nail because they rather obviously have the most to lose against a competitor such as a thriving HSR service.

One of the primary arguments made against California's system haas been cost, and there's no doubt it's an expensive proposition. Somewhere between $70B-100B to build the general infrastructure. That's a lot of money under any circumstances, but particularly in difficult economic times. Of course, if the money was being carted out into the Pacific Ocean and dumped into the Monterey Deep Sea Canyon just off the coast this would be an entirely valid concern. But as you no doubt realize, the money is actually spent on wages and salaries and products right here in the Golden States and other US states. It's an economic engine just as important as building a road or bridge or other public infrastructure elsewhere.

Importantly, the rail, if done correctly, would remove enough cars from the road (and potentially aircraft from the air) to more than offset the cost of building infrastructure for those forms of transportation, each of which is commensurate to the long term cost of the rail project. (CalTrans, our state agency tasked with maintaining transit infrastructure, alone has a statewide budget of $12B in 2013, for example. This doesn't include the money spent by cities and counties on their own road maintenance.) Rail efficiencies are driven after the initial construction costs, and would be amortized over the decades of service and upgrades.

View from a HS Train

View from a jet

Another argument is environmental. Um, hello? A rail system is far more environmentally sound than thousands of cars or passenger planes. Yes, there would be some construction impact, no question. But since the majority of the rail service bypasses the state's environmental treasures (and largely follows existing roadways) the impact is far more minimal than highway expansion and continued pollution from aircraft and automobiles.

Not only is rail service efficient and effective, it is far more comfortable than the flying busses employed by the airlines. On a train you can get out of your (much larger than airline-style) seat, stretch your legs, stand and talk, walk back to the diner car for a nosh (or drink) and generally travel in a good deal of relative comfort.

Seating inside a plane

Seating inside a train

(I will note that another plan exists for a slightly slower train to Las Vegas from the LA area, but this one promises true style and comfort. And an Ultra-Lounge to boot! The X Train is set to begin service some time in 2014 with a ride that effectively begins an ultra-chic Vegas vibe for the passengers hours before the train rolls into Las Vegas. Once launched, it will be interesting to see the impact it has on both Vegas-bound traffic and general expectations for rail service elsewhere. If you want to know more, I have included a link to their website below.)

One thing I have noticed is that people are more than willing to argue things from a theoretical standpoint, or even solely based on a spreadsheet and heresay. I have benefitted from traveling extensively on the European trains -- the TGV, Thalys, Eurostar and Frecciargento in particular -- and can testify to the extreme difference in the travelers' experience between that mode of transportation and the challenges presented by air travel these days.

And lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the views from =a train. Aircraft loft usup and over some truly beautiful vistas. From 30,000 feet the ground tends to look like a patchwork quilt, at best. From a rail perspective you can truly see the land for what it is: whether mountains, farms or cities, the view from the large windows of a train give you far more a sense of a land than does a casual flight over it. As regular readers know, I am insist on getting a feel for a place, a taste of the views and culture which surround me. This does not exist at 30K feet, and the experience aboard SAS or Air France or American Airlines is more about what occurs inside the cabin (or, these days, what does NOT occur) than it is what is going on outside the windows. 

From a train you can see the world at eye level.

I am excited about the prospect of finally having a true world-class rail transportation system in the US, and even happier it's here in my home state. Having driven and flown between LA and the Bay Area repeatedly, I am looking forward to having a viable third option for my transit dollars.

Just sayin'.


Links

CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY

LAS VEGAS X TRAIN

5 REASONS THE CHSR IS THE BEST PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT IN THE US