lockmat Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) At the book store last night and came across this article in The Economisthttp://www.economist.com/business/displays...tory_id=9441785With the fascination trains gives some of us, I thought this article could give us a more realistic idea of the triumphs and even struggles the train capital of the world even has and if our city/state/country decided to head in the direction of trains sometime in the future what our destiny could resemble.The prospects for Europe's trains have hardly been better since the great age of steam. For decades planes, cars and lorries have been quicker, more convenient and usually more reliable ways to transport people and goods throughout much of Europe. But concern over climate change, hassles at overcrowded airports, delayed flights and congested roads have conspired with better high-speed rail technology to make the train an increasingly attractive alternative, and an especially green one: a full high-speed electric train emits between a tenth and a quarter of the carbon dioxide of a plane, according to the bosses of Eurostar.Funny how some of these comments seem like they would be written about trains in America (if we ever began a major train commuting revolution) or some other place, not Europe.Planes, cars etc quicker and more convenient...in Europe??? Reality check please."Climate Change" - I'm with others here and believe that the incentive to save the climate and actually give up a car at all will only result when it benefits a person fiscally. How successful will the new high-speed lines be at taking business away from airlines? A big shift in passenger numbers would be more likely if airlines had to pay the same taxes that train operators do, namely value-added tax and a tax on fuel, both of which would push up air fares. But despite the resulting price disadvantage, high-speed rail still has many attractions. The added comfort of a train and the ability to walk about, eat in a dining car, work online or use a mobile phone Edited July 14, 2007 by lockmat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban909 Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Even if trains became prominant in America, it'd be very hard to see this relationship ever happening between trains and airliners. Another wake up call for me.well, i do know that CO has codeshare agreement with Amtrack from EWR to Philadelphia, Stamford, NewHaven, Boston, Wilmington, Washington, D.C. leaving from New York Penn Station... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 well, i do know that CO has codeshare agreement with Amtrack from EWR to Philadelphia, Stamford, NewHaven, Boston, Wilmington, Washington, D.C. leaving from New York Penn Station...What's a codeshare and EWR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDeb Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 EWR is the Newark airport, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urban909 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 EWR is the Newark airport, I believe.its Newark International Airport, CO second largest hub after houston. codeshare means you can use CO miles to buy tickets, etc on Amtrack and visa versa... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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