From a News & Record editorial:
The goal is to move passenger trains along a 500-mile route from Charlotte to Washington, D.C., at top speeds of 90-110 mph and an average speed of 86 mph. That won't match the "bullet trains" in Europe, Japan and China that reach tremendous speeds, but it would mark a significant improvement over current performance. Amtrak schedules say the "Crescent" can deliver a Greensboro passenger to Washington in six hours, 12 minutes, while the "Carolinian" takes seven hours, 47 minutes. If the train can't beat driving time, its appeal is limited.
Comments
I would ride, and enjoy it
But I do love me some trains. What about the rest of you?
Britrail and nothing else
but a bus or two for 10 days in Jolly Old England, I was in heaven. Talk about feeling free. As much as I adore driving my car, there's is something so liberating about being able to grab your suitcase and leave everything else behind. The trains were fast, clean, on time and went everywhere I wanted to. I'll use the train to DC if the price is right.
Not just DC
If this new train makes the same stops as the Carolinian, you can also go to Baltimore, Philly or even (gasp) New York Citaah. I did not know that.
Awesome
I can't wait.
Train travel in NC - for lobbying types
If you want to go to Raleigh without a car, current Amtrak is actually a good option if you're on the Piedmont route (serves Charlotte, Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary).
The Carolinian can work for some in the east too.
The Raleigh Amtrak station is only a block to a stop on the FREE downtown Raleigh circulator bus known as The R Line.
The R Line will take you near the General Assembly.
Gotta Lobby Day coming up? Consider the train to Raleigh.
Super info
I have to look into that, User, as I travel to Raleigh often and it is a short jaunt for me to get to Greensboro. Nothing to do with lobbying, though.
In California they have a commuter rail system in the Bay Area called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and they stop at various cities all along its route. They have busses that pick folks up and take them downtown to various let-off/pick-up locations. It is really great, especially for a tourist. And, the locals use it to get back and forth to work on a long stretch in Northern California.
It sounds like Amtrak has much the same thing. And, riding the train really is fun and I agree with another poster here, far better than fighting the traffic and you just have to know it will be cheaper overall.
I think it is a good thing if we expand/update our rail/commuter system in NC.
Last Call For The Cary Gold Club! All Aboard!!!!!!!
If you want to go to Raleigh without a car, current Amtrak is actually a good option if you're on the Piedmont route (serves Charlotte, Kannapolis, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Durham, Cary).
The Carolinian can work for some in the east too.
The Raleigh Amtrak station is only a block to a stop on the FREE downtown Raleigh circulator bus known as The R Line.
The R Line will take you near the General Assembly.
Gotta Lobby Day coming up? Consider the train to Raleigh.* Username
You left out the most important stop of all! The Gold or Men's Strip Club is located right next door [ 10 feet or one long Pole] to the Cary Station.
Not nice...
You should be, and likely will be appropriately cockbuggered.
Stan Bozarth
We are thinking alike
Hey, TrueMeck, I had that same thought. I was not going to be the first person to say so. Now, saying that, I am going to jump into the fire here. If that is a real picture of Madame, have you noticed who she looks like?
Might be kind of neat seeing a SP look-alike working that dancing pole, think?
Oh man, am I going to catch it for that!
(All in fun, Madame !).
That's not Rachel
posting, it's her husband Connie. But I bet he would dance around a pole if you dared him to. Or if you told him not to, for that matter.
The boy ain't right. When they were handing out brains, he thought they said, "trains", and he told them, "I prefer the old steam-powered versions, myself." :)
You know I love you, Connie.
Hmmmm.
Nope, no way am I going to touch that one, Steve.
Shame on you.
If there were a gay strip club in Cary with Connie performing
...I would boycott it.
Cary Stop Next!
When are you performing? TruMeckDem
Right now! As a Transgender Crossdressing Cary Train Station Republican?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB4K1ngHKuc&NR=1&feature=fvwp
If there were a gay strip club in Cary with Connie performing
...I would boycott it.*usernamehere
Than explain why your cell number is on the men^s room wall under Rental Republicans on Demand?
That's not Rachel
posting, it's her husband Connie. But I bet he would dance around a pole if you dared him to. Or if you told him not to, for that matter.
The boy ain't right. When they were handing out brains, he thought they said, "trains", and he told them, "I prefer the old steam-powered versions, myself." :)
You know I love you, Connie *Steve
Carefull Steve! You are in uncharter Republican switchstations and you could be the next Republican Senator Craig tapping secret codes to the masses...
All Aboard!!
If I could get to DC in 3 and a half hours, I could see myself hitting NYC a few times per year, rather than my current pace of a few times per lifetime.
Absolutely.
I ride the Crescent and the Carolinian between High Point and Washington now. I look forward to the faster connections.
It's already a much better deal in terms of cost and ease of travel than regional jet connections anyway, in my opinion. Add in the time spent in airports and the time differential is not as great as you'd think. Increase the speed of the train trip itself significantly and it's clearly going to draw a lot more passengers.
Dan Besse
Do like Europe and subsidize trains heavily
Our family never had a car when I was growing up in Germany. Two feet, a bicycle and public transportation were all we needed to get around. However, when I came to the US I was shocked at how expensive trains were and very disappointed in the train routes that so often took you through the shabbiest parts of town. In Europe, trains are heavily subsidized -- passing on the savings of having fewer cars on the road to the comuters -- and train tracks are laid along scenic routes that are really a feast for the eyes. Heck, people ride trains just for the view! As a teenager, I rode to Switzerland and France from Germany on trains at very little cost and I still recall the beauty of those trips vividly.
The other thing that makes riding trains so much fun is the social aspect. Daily comuters often flock together with like-minded fellow travelers and time flies when you are in congenial company. My brother who lives near Stuttgart and who comutes to work is part of book club that meets on the train. Try that with a car!
Resistance is Fertile
Great comment
n/t
Yes indeed
I have to travel to DC and NYC pretty often and I take the train regularly. Unfortunately, it blows a whole day most of the time. A fast run would be most welcome. I'd always use it instead of flying or driving.
Would ride that.
Maybe my family in the DC area would see me more often than once a year. Driving on the Beltway is AWFUL, no matter what time of day you do it. It's 5 hours or so to where my sister lives, but that doesn't include the hour or more of sitting on the parking lot of 495. (And dealing with asshole drivers, for that matter.)
I lived in Germany for a year, doing study abroad, and I never had a car. There was a bus stop right outside my dorm, and the train station in town linked to Frankfurt easily, and from there ... Europe!