Personally, I'd favor a much more extensive, reliable, and frequently run network of 70MPH trains before HSR--but I think we're in agreement that upgrading train infrastructure would be a very effective part of any pandemic-recovery economic plan that seeks both short-term stimulus and long-term benefits.
When I take road trips, even on routes where, traffic permitting, I can drive 70-80 mph, my point to point average speed never seems to exceed 50 mph. It's all those restroom stops, fuel stops, lunch stops, etc. And if it's longer than a day trip, my max is 8-10 hours driving (400-500 miles), and then I need to stop for the night. Thus, if a train can consistently perform at a 50 mph point-to-point average speed, it's speed competitive with driving. If it can do 60 mph point to point average speed, it's actually faster than driving. Of course, in order to account for parts of the route with curves and grades, and intermediate stops, etc., the train's top speed on suitable parts of the route will need to be 80-90 mph.
If you're going to factor in stops for the car trip, you should also include travel time to and from the stations for the train trip. While train stations tend to be more centrally located than airports, not everyone is going downtown and there will be some additional travel time regardless. There is also some time after arriving at the station but prior to the departure time. However, these factors are less relevant on longer trips. For example, I live in Chicago and it takes me about 45 minutes to get to Union Station; I also tend to get there at least 30 minutes early. That nearly doubles the travel time if I am going to Milwaukee, a route which has a travel time that is theoretically highly competitive with driving. It could take even longer than that depending on where my specific destination is. However, if I were to take the SWC to Los Angeles, the 1-2 hours of travel time on the ends don't make as much of a difference.
NYC to Buffalo with a car takes 7 hours, 375 miles, if you can have a train going 150-200 MPH just 50% of the time and make it in 3 1/2 hours , most people will take it versus flying. This route alone has more then 10 flights a day, and if it can go till Toronto, its a game changer with 30 flights a day.
The 10 New York-Buffalo flights, if they're using 737s with a capacity of 150, have 1500 seats per day.
Not all of us are the same...
My grandfather used to do a 24-hour marathon drive from Florida when he came up to visit us. And that was in the early 1960s before I-95 was 100% completed. I guess I didn't inherit the genes for marathon. The best I've done was 600 miles in 14 hours, but the last time we did that my family rebelled and told me never to do that again.
With the exception of JetBlue, most of those are regional jets.
Even though I rode coach it was calming, enjoyable, relaxing and, I wasn't tired or stiff from driving when I got there.
That's what we did when we took our trip to Miami on the Silver Meteor back in 2015. And if Amtrak ever gets it's act together and makes the new Miami station usable (for Amtrak trains), it will be co-located with the rental car center at the Miami airport.
Must be why nobody ever goes anywhere without a car...
In 2018 I made a trip from Denver to Berlin entirely by public transport (walk/roll>bus>train>LH plane>bus>S-Bahn>S-Bahn>walk/roll from my home to our veterans' reunion hotel. However, I lived then in the Capitol Hill area of Denver with all the parking spaces full and the Berlin hotel is a block from an S-Bahn station. "Needing" a car is a common phrase -- I have a German tourist guide to the U.S. that states clearly that renting a car is required -- but it really depends on the journalistic Who, Why, Where, What, When and How to get the best answer.
You missed what I wrote. Here it is again with the relevant part highlighted:
I have rented a car a couple of times in Europe, but now that there are traffic cameras all over the place I have stopped renting. I find that it's easier to slip up when you are out of your element - especially in Italy where they have cameras that issue fines if you enter the wrong zone in urban areas.
It's more than a "turn off", it's downright impractical.
Once-affordable car rentals are now priced out of most budgets, except for shorter trips. Renting a car for a week is a lot different than renting one for a month or longer - hence the value of the Auto Train. Once the fare and vehicle charge become less than a car rental you have a successful product, without even considering the ancillary benefits such as traffic, stress, etc.
I had no idea that NY/NJ had such requirements, and that people actually get ticketed for it. Oh well....
