Trains have long held their history in the United States as a way that we first connected the nation. Even though many of the tracks were lain down years ago, many are still today in use and trains have always been a faster, economical, and more timely way for people to get around from A to B without having to deal with the typical headaches of other types of travel.

Trains Vs. Automobiles
One of the biggest bonuses about the idea of the train versus the automobile is that there are really so many reasons why taking a train might just be a no-brainer. First of all, when we’re talking about the economics of the whole thing, trains are cheaper, bar-none. I’m always tickled when I see people come into my place of business (in midtown Manhattan, right next to the Lincoln Tunnel) and ask me all these cursory questions which I’d had when I was a novice to the ways about town. “Where is there street parking?” Well, here? There isn’t any. “I don’t believe you, why are all these other cars parked here?” They’re either cops or they’ll be gone in two minutes. People from Connecticut think, “Oh, my gosh! I’m not going to spend eight dollars to take the train to New York when I can just take my car for free!” That’s not even applicable even if there weren’t tolls, parking, ticketing (which I’ve gotten many) and towing (which I’ve been before) (trust me, none of these options is fun) But even forgetting the monetary aspect of the deal for a second, there is a timeliness thing that happens on a train that is strangely bereft in a car. You’ve got traffic tie ups, gas breaks, bathroom breaks, and the parking situation once you’ve gotten there. So all of the sudden your one hour trip is turned into a three hour fiasco. Not so on a train

Trains vs. Planes
While planes are undoubtedly the fastest way to get great distances, consider this. A trip from New York to Boston is about one hour and twenty minutes on a plane. But you’ve got to consider all the weather variables that could leave you grounded for considerably longer than you’d anticipated. In addition you’ve got to consider all the added security measures in place that add not only minutes but blocks of time, sometimes hours, of taking your shoes off and scanning your life though the x-ray machine. Also consider that when the Accela train says they’re leaving at 6:50 and arriving at 9:45 will those extra few minutes saved really matter all that much? And you need to respect the fact that, if you need to be somewhere, train schedules are more reliable than planes and more reliable than busses which run into the same problems of approximation that planes do.

So if for no other reason than the preceding two, you should check out train trips for your next jaunt. They’re cheap and they work better than many think!