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.

AI Mania Is Eviscerating Global Decision-Making from Ludicity
No-One Escapes the Permanent Underclass from Fernando Borretti
Is it ethical to use AI? from charity.wtf
The logical destination of LLMs from Andy Bell
Revised rules of engineering leadership. from Irrational Exuberance
The circus freaks of open source from Drew DeVault's blog
Clanker: A Word For The Machine from Armin Ronacher's Thoughts and Writings
I ran a half-marathon! from gluecko.se

Articles from blogs I follow around the net

Fujifilm X100 vs Leica Q vs Ricoh GR

Notes on three fixed-lens camera lines

via The Map is Mostly Water July 18, 2026

Make It Work vs. Make It Good

There are two wolves inside of me, lol. Some days I want to be a “designer”. Other days I want to be a “developer”. On the days I find myself wanting to feed the developer, it’s often because making something “work” seems easier (and more impressive) than...

via Jim Nielsen’s Blog July 18, 2026

Robert Jon & the Wreck at The Tin Pan

Robert Jon & the Wreck at The Tin Pan I have lived in RVA, and before that Fredericksburg, for over 20 years. I have looked at shows at The Tin Pan on multiple occasions. Every time I passed, because the idea of seeing a loud rock and roll show in a dinner...

via O'DonnellWeb July 18, 2026

Generated by openring