Amtrak

Amtrak trains travel through Washington, DC, on September 15, 2022.Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty ImagesAs domestic travel rebounds from pandemic lows and prices soar, some travelers opting for trains over planes.For many, the tradeoffs are simple: Trains are often cheaper, provide more leg room and are better for the environment than air travel. Those advantages and others are driving riders to Amtrak, the government-backed U.S. rail service, as it tries to revive pre-Covid ridership and smooth out operations.Since…

An Amtrak train derailed Wednesday in Moorpark after ramming into a truck, causing “severe damage,” according to fire officials. The crash occurred near Los Angeles Avenue and Gabbert Road in Moorpark in Ventura County and sparked a fire in the train’s baggage car, according to fire radio calls. Authorities did not provide an exact time of the derailment.A spokesperson with the Ventura County Fire Department said the seven-car train had derailed. It struck a truck before derailing, according to fire radio calls. The…

Since I moved to Vermont a year ago, I’ve both driven my Tesla Model 3 and taken an Amtrak train to visit family in Pennsylvania. Here’s why I prefer to take the train in the Northeast Corridor – the busiest railroad in North America. Convenience. Taking the Amtrak Vermonter from VT to PA is a lot more convenient than driving a car – four out of five of the top cities with the worst traffic in the US are in the Northeast. When I take the train, I dodge traffic jams on main arteries…

Amtrak's Acela is the fastest passenger train in the Western Hemisphere, but tickets can be pricey.Amtrak fares can vary dramatically in the Northeast, home of the most heavily used stretch of track in the railroad's nationwide network, which also includes stops in Canada.But tickets are often more expensive than plane tickets, despite flight times being much shorter than the typical train ride. Transportation researchers say Amtrak's fares in the Northeast are higher than those for comparable systems.Meanwhile, the…

Last year, I took the Amtrak from Chicago to San Francisco in coach, and loved it so much that I did it again. So this summer, I decided to take four more long-distance trains: San Francisco to Seattle, Seattle to Chicago, Chicago to New Orleans, and New Orleans to Los Angeles. (I flew from Los Angeles home to San Francisco because of timing issues, which is a big problem with US rail — something we’ll get into later.) Along the way, I learned about America. I saw the quaint lakes of the Upper Midwest, the humid clouds…

Freight railway workers have complained about being constantly on-call practically every day of the week as well as being penalized for taking time off to go to a doctor or dentist appointment.Photo: STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP (Getty Images)Apparently, all it took for unionized freight rail workers to finally force their companies to let them see a doctor without being penalized was to threaten to upend the entire supply chain. In tense, near-day long negotiations, White House and rail company trade groups both announced there…