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Amtrak routes see track upgrades in Illinois, Michigan
Yes, the C&EI Eagle will fly again.
It will be interesting to see if improvements in travel time will beget a similar improvement in patronage on the MIchigan route. Great results will make it easier to get better funding for even more improvements.
Will Amtrak be detouring the Eagle over the former C&EI again?
Why anyone choose Mega Bus over the train at these speeds? It seems there are certain individuals who advocate the bus over rail on account of the train being a government entity.
Mega Bus is CHEAP! Something Amtrak lost years ago… Cheap transportation sells!
What do you get with the cheaper bus. NO leg room, Cramped seating, Stinking stinkpots that pass for restrooms with hand gel instead of soap and water. NO THANKS, Keep your damned MegaBus.
There are lots of supplies evident along the Michigan portion around the city of Albion, even track equipment that appears to be in position to rework a long spur from the downtown connection to the mainline to a major customer. There are no concrete ties seen, but stacks of wooden ones.
Cheap is what sells. The airlines found that out long ago. Airline service could and would be much better if people were willing to pay for it but they aren’t. Most people will change airlines and add a change of planes to their itinerary to save $5.00. There are many people here in southern Maine who won’t consider the Downeaster to Boston because Concord Coach is a few dollars cheaper (not to mention at least 35 minutes faster plus the movie). And when they get to South Station, rather than even a NE Regional train they hop on Mega Bus or Bolt because it is only $10 to NYC. They don’t care about comfort, they want to save a few bucks. And these are people who could aford the higher Amtrak fare. It is the same everywhere.
Given the emphasis on minimizing losses, Amtrak prices their services based on demand just as the airlines do. When I occasionally ride the Lincoln Service, there are very few empty seats, so Amtrak has little incentive to reduce fares, which are already considerably less than driving and some bus services.
Megabus won’t be able to serve every city that Amtrak trains stop at along the way. And yes, THERE IS A CATCH to that $1 fare, not to mention the additional 50 cent booking fee on top of it too! Also, better take a sack lunch with you for food unless you want to wait for the bus to make a stop at a greasy spoon along the way where they will lay over for about an hour or so.
Many of the other cheap carriers are providing a flee market service and you get what you pay for. The DOT recently ran safety checks on some of those carriers and they were shut down because drivers didn’t meet qualifications nor were the buses up to safety standards.
Those buses likely will not serve most of the smaller intermediate stops along the way that Amtrak stops at along the way. Megabus may stop in Ann Arbor between Chicago and Detroit, but what about Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, or Jackson? You’re out of luck unless you take the Greyhound or Indian Trails, and buses like that are either pulling out of those towns or stop at every last cowtown along the way taking an eternity to get some place.
Buses are subject to traffic jams, just like automobiles. When they make a stop to get off the highway and then go into town, that takes time. Trains can actually make more stops and serve more towns along their routes since they don’t have to get off the highway like buses do. If all buses stopped in the same towns as Amtrak, the train would have those buses left in the dust.