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Midnight train from GA: A view of America from the tracks as airports struggle

by walterbell on 3/29/2026, 8:00:02 PM

https://isp.netscape.com/news/story/0001/20260329/e4d8ea591b3b036142c2bf2dee7dff5a

Comments

by: shagie

The regular site (rather than aggregator): <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;apnews.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;airports-shutdown-long-lines-train-travel-amtrak-e4d8ea591b3b036142c2bf2dee7dff5a" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;apnews.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;airports-shutdown-long-lines-trai...</a><p>This also includes some images that aren&#x27;t part of the netscape.com version... which is probably part of the point of it: &quot;A view of America from the tracks&quot; has some pictures of Amtrak stations and Virginia countryside.<p>(and for some nostalgia- City of New Orleans by Steve Goodman <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;fhHxNMyw0dI" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;fhHxNMyw0dI</a> )

3/29/2026, 8:21:29 PM


by: adjejmxbdjdn

&gt; The train is still longer, and time is money, we are taught. But certainty has value, too, even if it means at 11:29 p.m. departure.<p>Unfortunately this is misleading. Outside of the Northeast Acela corridor, there is no certainty in train travel in the U.S..<p>Although legally passenger trains are now supposed to have right of way over freight trains, in practice that’s just not the case. So a 14.5 hr train journey can easily be delayed by several hours.

3/29/2026, 8:53:38 PM


by: superultra

I’ve taken this line - as many have and do all the time. Ride it once and you’ll realize why it’s the better way to travel in every way but cost and time - and both of those are a result of the United State unwillingness to fully fund something like Amtrak.<p>As the author states traveling by train just a more pleasant experience.<p>I should note that even though there is technically wifi on every Amtrak train, it’s cellular based. You’ll find that at least from atlanta to NY, the train somehow threads the needle between cellular ranges. Both your phone and of course the train will often be either out of range of fast cellular service or out of range altogether. Supposedly Amtrak is getting starlink but we’ll see. So, don’t expect to be getting on any video calls.

3/29/2026, 8:43:58 PM


by: Reason077

&gt; <i>”… booked the train overnight and into game day across a 650-mile route … A 14½-hour weekend train ride”</i><p>Just by way of comparison, in China the 819-mile train route between Beijing and Shanghai takes 4.5 hours.

3/29/2026, 9:33:15 PM


by: dylan604

Delta has round trip flights from ATL-&gt;WAS for ~$800<p>TFA train round trip shows $306 without a private cabin.<p>TFA already mentioned the time differences.<p>The googs says it&#x27;s 638miles doable in 9.5hours. Say an average of 20mpg at $4&#x2F;gal (I have no idea what current rates are in that part of the country) needs 32gals for $128 one way or $256 to come back. Of course someone needs to drive it.<p>The train definitely looks like a decent deal for this route. I&#x27;ve priced train rides from my town, and prices look like plane routes but in days instead of hours. The train doesn&#x27;t make sense all of the time, but I&#x27;m holding out hope I&#x27;ll find a trip where it will make sense.

3/29/2026, 8:43:25 PM


by: axpy906

“ That is what drew Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman for one of the Civil War’s seminal campaigns that helped defeat the Confederacy.”<p>To be clear Sherman burned it to the ground which is why it got renamed Atlanta.

3/29/2026, 9:29:05 PM


by: plagiarist

I wish we had high speed rail. Rail travel is actually pleasant. Air travel is a godawful nightmare that is somehow worse every single year.

3/29/2026, 9:35:30 PM


by: ChrisArchitect

If you were trying to highlight the Netscape ISP site OP, thread here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=47565264">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=47565264</a>

3/29/2026, 9:24:09 PM


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3/29/2026, 9:21:45 PM


by: homeonthemtn

Whoa, forget the train, folks check out this website. This is active??

3/29/2026, 8:09:22 PM