Very true. The LOSSAN Corridor here in San Diego mostly parallels the I-5 south from Camp Pendleton to downtown SD (with some separation south of Escondido). I believe north of Oceanside the line needed to parallel the interstate to avoid being on Pendleton territory. The I-215 north of Menifee also has the BNSF main running along it for a ways up to San Bernandino.
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Amtrak currently has 3 routes using the median of highways: on I- 95 south of Richmond on the old Atlantic Coast Lline, a segment between Austin and San Antonio on a highway known as the Missouri Pacific Highway used by the Texas Eagle, and in the middle of I-10 approaching Los Angeles on a Southern Pacific stretch used by the Sunset Limitedā¦
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This is how the European trains lines work. Yes you can go to one part of Europe to another but most of the time people are going shorter distances within their smaller countries or to neighboring towns. And the second part to this is good walking and biking infrastructure in cities and towns so that it becomes even easier to travel by train.
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More like I-5 mostly parallels highway 101, which mostly parallels the LOSSAN corridor. The LOSSAN corridor was complete about 1890, highway 101 has been aroud since the 1920ās, but I-5 wasnāt finished till 1964. I-15 north of I-8 wasnāt finished until late 1984.
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Been using I-95 between Maryland and Florida multiple times per year since 1990 and am not aware of a CSX Main Line in the median South of Richmond - there are some industrial tracks visible from I-95 but no main tracks.
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There is a segment labeled I-495. I donāt know how that relates to I-95āIāve only traveled on the route by train.
The real problem is convience. A study was done in the 1970ās that said that train travel was ideal, at best in the 300 to 500 mile range. Shorter than that, and people will take their car. Longer than that and they will fly.
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JohnKelly, the Interstate Hwy numbering system tells you a LOT about each road, just from the number
I-495, will be a āLoopā Hwy, that connects to I-95, at each end, if the first digit of the 3 digit number was Odd, instead of Even, it would be a āSpurā Hwy, instead of a Loop Hwy
There is much more to the hwy numbering system, but I donāt want to āDerailā this thread too much, but if anyone is interested, I can explain more, itās actually rather interesting, and can be very helpful for those who travel much
Doug
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195 (the Beltline Expressway) around the west side of Richmond. It isnāt so much that the railroad is built into the Interstate as the Interstate was built around the ACLās line to Acca Yard.
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AEP528, you nailed it. I live between Baltimore and Philly. We use to travel to the Detroit suburbs to visit family. If you leave my house and go to the airport south of Baltimore or to Philly, and get plane, then get a car service to Novi or wherever west of Detroit. I can beat you there in my car leaving directly from Havre de Grace, MD, and spend less money.
Sheldon
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The expense of adding additional passengers to your car is negligible, but if you have a Spouse, and/or children traveling with you, the expenses increase very quickly, traveling by pretty much any commercial mode
And with children along, you also have the advantage of being able to stop whenever needed, for various reasons, to make the trip more bearable
Doug
I donāt think so. Thatās about a 570 mile trip. So eight hours of driving, plus breaks for eating, getting gas and relieving yourself. So ten hours, at least.
havre de grace to novi michigan - Search
Delta has 8 nonstops between PHI/BWI and DTW. Iām sure American and Southwest add a couple.
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My wife and I are planning a trip to Detroit for a vacation this summer. For Amtrak itās almost 700 bucks round trip for all 6 people going. I donāt think my minivan will burn that much fuel.
But you have to get to the airport. The airport is 45 minutes from my house on a VERY good day.
And how much time do you spend parking your car, getting checked in, moving around the airport?
Or paying to have some sort of car service drive you to the airport that it is 43 miles from my house?
I have made that drive in under 9 hours - more than once. Did once in under 8ā¦
For us to make a flight at BWI, we need to leave our house about 3 hours before departure time to insure we are there and checked in.
From here - 3 hours to get to the plane and on it + 1.5 flight time + 1 hour or more getting off the plane and out of the airport + Nearly another hour to Farmington Hills or Novi.
OK, flying maybe an hour or two faster on perfect day. But way more hassle, way more cost, schlepping luggage, renting cars, paying for car services. Why?
That is not a measurable time savings that justifies the expense, process or the hassle. It is effectively a whole day either way.
Or the flexibility of being on my own schedule.
Sheldon
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We donāt live around the corner from the airport - it is 43 miles away, thru busy urban traffic.
Sheldon
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For my family the closest airport with passenger service is 1 hour away and if youāre wanting to go to international the closest airport is OHare in Chicago and no thank you on that sucker. Iād rather get a root canal without any anesthesia than play in that mess.
No, you wouldnāt.
Rich
Under 8 hours for 570 miles? Someone mustāve been driving way over the speed limit and wearing their Depends.
Iāve had a root canal and it wasnāt that bad. I guess if you go to a dentist whose favorite movie is Marathon Man, you get what you ask for.