Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Public Transportation and Smart Growth

Showing Original Post only (View all)

mahatmakanejeeves

(65,621 posts)
Fri Jan 1, 2021, 04:41 PM Jan 2021

Travel Aboard Amtrak's Crescent, surprising comfort and welcome seclusion on a slow train to Mississ [View all]

Sigh. More chugging trains. How long has it been since locomotives chugged?

Also, passenger service between New York and New Orleans over the Southern Railway started a lot longer than any fifty years ago.

Travel

Aboard Amtrak’s Crescent, surprising comfort and welcome seclusion on a slow train to Mississippi

By Scott Butterworth
Jan. 1, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. EST

With bell ringing and diesel engine chugging to a halt for its daily stop in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Amtrak Crescent created quite an impression on its audience: a boy in a lime green T-shirt who was waving mightily to herald the arrival, and his dad, who held a video camera to his eye to capture the moment.

Fifty years after this passenger-train service debuted to connect New York and New Orleans, the arrival of the Crescent can still stoke a sense of excitement at its 31 stops, including Tuscaloosa.

But the show may be winding down.

This fall, Amtrak halved the Crescent’s daily service and that of its other long-distance routes to three trips a week, citing “the long-term impact of covid-19 on ridership.” While the railroad suggests it could resume daily service as soon as next summer, Amtrak leaders have been outspoken for more than a year about their desire to remove long-distance trains such as the Crescent from the schedule.

{snip}

I would gladly ride another long-distance route on Amtrak. If, that is, one remains available to ride.

Butterworth is a freelance writer based in Rockville, Md.
5 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Public Transportation and Smart Growth»Travel Aboard Amtrak's Cr...»Reply #0