Recent content by goodnightjohnwayne

I think that normal, casual attire is appropriate for all coach passengers on overnight and long distance trains.

Amtrak has tried vending machines in the early 2000s, much in the same way that Southern Pacific and the New York Central did in the 1960s. The real problem is that you can't see alcohol out of vending machines, and the machines still need to be stocked, if not in route, at end points, and it's...

There are many ways of providing food service. Look at the Downeaster service, where prices and food quality are universally acknowledged to be superior and the food service is contracted out. I think it's important to look at new and innovative solutions. I personally think that there's...

Are Macbook users having the same issues with Safari?

Actually, the Germans and Japanese broke up their national railways, and now the highly unprofitable regional services are subsidized by regional governments, not national governments. Of course, the same is true for most mass transit and commuter rail systems in the United States.

Marx was a poor historian, ignorant of economics, and totally clueless about human motivation, most likely because he was a complete psychopath with megalomaniac delusions. It is fairly clear that Marx was authoritarian in his sentiments. Machiavelli was fairly perceptive, but his work...

The recapitalization of Amtrak's rolling stock is hardly a deficit buster. The real problem is that the request is coming far too late in the current political cycle. Amtrak was largely ignored in the first stimulus and was mostly frozen out of the $8 billion in HSR funding. Now, it's far...

Airliner style overhead bins are indeed ridiculous for any sort of passenger train - and a tremendous inconvenience as well. Why sacrifice space and utility in a silly attempt to simulate airline travel? I could apply the same comments to the Acela and VIA Rail LRC coaches as well...

I have to question just about every claim made in that article. Since when does it pay to spend $1.3 billion to save $10 million per year?

This has nothing to do with SMART (Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit). That is an entirely separate DMU centered commuter rail proposal. Because this is a thread on CALTRAIN, and it's far from clear that the needless electrification of this line will help anyone?

Well, the Erie did manage to pick a route that managed to miss any potential population centers. I also have the impression that there are many curves, since the route followed the low ground of the watercourse to minimize grades and building costs. I would guess that the route is closer to...

Electrification has been the obsession of Caltrain management since the authority took over from the SP. Basically, there is the passenger demand to justify the $1.3 investment. More likely than not, the increasing costs are tied more to contractual increases in wages and benefits than the...

Actually, I've never seen any of the problem that you've described, or should I say "imagined." The amazing thing is that I've never seen an Amfleet seat with a torn cover and that 30 year old cars are remarkable clean and show very little wear for their age. As far as dirty windows, I'd...

I've never known Amtrak to alter the seat spacing in any of their equipment to cram in more passengers in the way that the airlines do? Is it hypothetically possible? Sure. The seats in Amfleet cars seem to be on rails, similar to an airliner. However, I've never seen it done before. I'm...

1. The first class "Club" service is exclusive to the Acela Express. I can assure you that you must have traveled in "Business class," which is not a "first class" service. Incidentally, all coach seats are "reserved," in the sense that Amtrak doesn't sell more tickets than seats. 2. I...