Amtrak Offers 25 Percent Discount In Northeast

Amtrak is offering a 25 percent discount for advance purchase of one-way fares on its Northeast Regional service, which runs from New Haven to Washington with spurs reaching Boston and Springfield, as well as Lynchburg and Newport News, Va.
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Get Double And Triple Amtrak Points

Amtrak has announced a promotion that grants double mileage points for train trips through May 7 and triple points from May 8 to May 29, 2010.

Yes, Amtrak has a rewards program. And you should join it if you ever take a trip on Amtrak. In fact, my advice is that you join every loyalty program for every travel service you ever use because why not. It’s free.

To get the Amtrak extra points you have to join Amtrak Guest Rewards and sign up for the Spring Training promotion.

Third Round Trip Free On Amtrak’s Northeast Regional

Amtrak is offering a free round trip on the Northeast Regional route to members of its rewards program who complete two trips on that route before March 13.

The Northeast Regional runs from Boston through New York to Washington, with a branch running from Springfield, Mass., through Hartford to join the line in New Haven. From Washington it splits toward Lynchburg, Va., and Newport News, Va. There’s a map and more information here.

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Making Buses Like Trains

How do you get people to ride the bus? Pretend it’s a train, a consultant told Connecticut transit planners last week, as Don Stacom reported in The Hartford Courant. (Disclosure: I have more than a passing acquaintance with Mr. Stacom.)

The message was that bus systems are more successful the more they resemble light rail, with frequent service, fewer stops, pleasant stations and rapid boarding. The state of Connecticut is planning such a busway, along a former railroad right-of-way, between New Britain and Hartford.

The rather poor reputation of long-distance bus travel in this country is already shifting a little bit, thanks to the introduction of luxury buses like the LimoLiner and the inexpensive but stylish BoltBus and Megabus lines. Because of this, I’m much more likely to travel by bus these days than I used to be.

But commuting is another matter, here in Central Connecticut. I tried like hell to ride the Connecticut Transit buses when I worked in Hartford, but the schedules made it very difficult. Express buses were too few and local buses took too long. I’d still rather ride a train, but I would settle for better bus service.

Blogging From The Tracks

If you don’t have enough blogs to read, have a look at Derailed: One Man’s Story Of His Life On (And Off) The Rails. It’s by Bobby, an Amtrak conductor, a keen observer of the human condition and a good writer to boot.

Men Ask For Men-Only Train Cars

by Pat Rioux via Flickr

Some men in Tokyo are asking for men-only cars on Tokyo commuter trains, Reuters reports.

Amtrak Quiet Car Getting Even Quieter

I heard an announcement Sunday on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional heading back to Hartford that starting today there will be absolutely no talking on the quiet cars.

So brush up on your sign language, people.

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Five Reasons Amtrak Should Have Wi-Fi

I had  another long Amtrak ride without wi-fi yesterday, and I have to wonder why. So I drew up my top 5 reasons Amtrak should install (free) wireless Internet:

1. Customer service. People want on-board wi-fi, and it will make them happy. Making customers happy may not be a “core value” in the transit business right now, but many other enterprises swear by it.

2. Public order. Passengers surfing the Internet may be doing bad things, like sending spam in which they claim to be Nigerian bank managers. But this keeps them too busy to do bad things in real life, which keeps things nice and quiet on the train. Just the way conductors like it.

3. Cell phone mitigation. People who can email won’t need to talk on the cell phone as much. We hope.

4. National pride. European trains are starting to roll out wireless Internet. Do we really want to give them something else to feel superior about?

5. Just plain pride. The $10 BoltBus has wi-fi. In fact, yesterday I briefly used a Greyhound wireless signal that I was able to pick up as I sat on the train. And that’s just pathetic.

High-Speed Rail Is Not The Whole Story

Much is being made of high-speed European rail as a model for the United States. Last week U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood was in Spain, trying out its AVE high-speed trains.

Which is all well and good, in my view. But it’s important to remember that high-speed rail in Spain is part of a network of mass transportation choices.

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Thinking About Bikes And Trains

Alper Çuğun / http://alper.nl

I recently spent $1,500 on new brakes and tires for my Subaru, which refloated the fantasy I have long held under the surface reality of my suburban existence, the dream of life without a car.

In that life, I would ride a bike and trains. Also trolley cars, subways and buses. Maybe a scooter.

Today I’m nurturing that dream at the Connecticut Train Day symposium at Union Station in New Haven, where the topic is bicycling and commuter rail. Rail*Trains*Ecology*Cycling arranged the event, and provided some really good coffee.

Norman Garrick, director of the Center for Transportation and Urban Planning at the University of Connecticut, raised a lot of interesting ideas in an excellent slideshow:

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