Amtrak

October 30, 2014 | transit | travel | dc |

I took the Amtrak train for the first time from Philadelphia down to Washington DC this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome it was! I spent a lot of time out on the road these past few years, so I have gotten used to the many annoyances of airline travel and mass transit. The last time that I was on a non-commuter train was in Ukraine when I was very young. It was certainly a very different experience to say the least! Here are my favorite parts about Amtrak:

You can get your tickets on your smart phone a few minutes before the train leaves. A very stress free experience!
Even with a lot of people riding the train the boarding process is smooth, quick, and painless.
There is usually a ton of room on board.
The seats are big and comfy, even in coach!
They have a power outlet at every seat.
They have free wifi.

Taking the train was so much better than driving down I-95 and dealing with the traffic. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. It is a shame that the train system only seems to make sense on the East Coast (and perhaps the West Coast too). For example, in Cincinnati there is only one train that comes a few times a week at around 3:00 a.m. Most people in Cincinnati do not even know that the Amtrak comes there. I am not sure if we will ever get to experience an efficient high speed rail system in the US, but I am looking forward to a few more trips up and down the East Coast!

Thank you for reading! Share your thoughts with me on bluesky, mastodon, or via email.

Check out some more stuff to read down below.

Most popular posts this month

Recent Favorite Blog Posts

This is a collection of the last 8 posts that I bookmarked.

The contagion of fear from The Observation Deck
The revolt of the reader from The Observation Deck
Deeper dive: Were Touch Bar’s problems software rather than hardware? from Unsung
Joining Cursor from Fatih Arslan
Pluralistic: Digital sewer socialism (08 Aug 2026) from Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
Pluralistic: Enshittification and Reverse Centaurs go global (29 Jul 2026) from Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
AI Mania Is Eviscerating Global Decision-Making from Ludicity
The default person from https://popagandhi.com/

Articles from blogs I follow around the net

Pluralistic: The Claude Delusion (21 Sep 2026)

Today's links The Claude Delusion: What if we're the ones having hallucinations? Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: 9/11 v sex; 9/11 v flags; US customs v diplomatic Vegemite; CIA torture survivors speak; HP's inky timebomb; "The R...

via Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow September 21, 2026

The Lifespan of a Concept

The gap between a word and the reality it describes.

via elusive wordsmith September 21, 2026

Who undoes the undoers

Just as there is a ticking bomb built into cut/⌘X – if you cut something, and then cut something else again without a paste in between, you overwrite the clipboard without any way to bring it back – there is another one that awaits you when you use undo/⌘Z...

via Unsung September 21, 2026

Generated by openring