but they were also really effective.They ran their railroads like a business and they were so profitable that they were able to build their own little empires.
The United States has had a complicated relationship with train travel since the country was built on the backs of the railroads. At one point, the US had the most well-funded rail network in the world, but now the country has fallen far behind the rest of the world in terms of train travel. To find out what happened, I’m taking a 70-hour journey on Amtrak from Los Angeles to New York City.
In 1916, the US had a peak of 254,000 miles of railroads, the highest number ever recorded. The Pennsylvania railroad, also known as the Pennsy, was the largest corporation in the world at the time. Train travel was luxurious, with chandeliers, barber shops, pianos, and food service that would make the Four Seasons look like Boston Market.
However, much of the success of the railroads is due to the “robber barons” like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, James Fisk, and J.P. Morgan. These men were ruthless and corrupt, but they ran their railroads like a business and were so profitable that they were able to build their own little empires. When it came to building an expansive kingdom of highly profitable rail companies, the private commercial passenger trains were great. However, they were bad when it came to just about everything else, resulting in the companies becoming universally hated by the general public. This caused the federal government to take action and institute a bunch of regulations, such as setting fixed rates for the companies and preventing them from raising their fares or changing their service without permission.
However, this didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, because the problem was seen as how to keep railroads from making too much money. This all changed when affordable automobiles and later air travel came into the picture, leading to a drastic decrease in the use of trains for passenger travel.
The rail companies were then forced to provide passengers service as a benefit to the public, but this was proving to be unprofitable. To solve this, the government took the responsibility for passenger service off the plates of the rail companies, who could then focus on the profitable freight side of the business, leading to the formation of Amtrak in 1971.
However, Amtrak was designed to fail from the beginning, as the government gave it a budget of just $40 million for its first year of operation. This budget has gone up a lot since then, but when you take into account that the federal highway budget for the same year was $64.3 billion, you can see the inequity in the government’s priorities when it comes to travel. This is why Amtrak has failed to majorly expand or innovate. I’m now in Millennium Park, rolling around with my suitcase like a tourist. I’m trying to enjoy not being on a train as much as possible before I get on the second leg of my journey. I’m happy to have my own private room, and my favorite feature of the room is the hidden sink. This train is a bit more dynamic than the last one, but I’m hoping the movements will help me sleep.
When I woke up, we had reached Ohio, about 2600 miles and 50 something hours through my journey. There are many reasons why people still take the train, such as the environment; a study by the University of Pennsylvania found that a long distance train trip produces 37% less emissions than a flight. Trains are also much safer than cars, as you’re 17 times more likely to die while driving than taking a train. Flying and driving can be faster and sometimes even cheaper than taking the Amtrak, but they’re both often miserable experiences.
On the Amtrak, I was able to stare out the window, read a book, take a nap, or whatever. I also had the pleasure of wandering around the train and stretching my legs. Amtrak is currently underfunded, but imagine what it would be like if it was evened out.
It took me 72 hours and 17 minutes to reach Ohio, which would have taken me 5-6 hours to fly. Despite the hiccups at the beginning, it was a pleasant and memorable experience. Amtrak currently covers 21,000 miles of passenger rail in the US, but the routes don’t connect.
Former Amtrak President Graham Claytor said that only the American public can save Amtrak when they say they want it. Now, I’m going to take a much needed shower and go to sleep in a real bed before I fly back to California tomorrow. One of my favorite parts of riding the Amtrak is listening to Phoebe Bridgers while wistfully staring out the window.