Vacation Guilt (vacation travel by train)

[Gilbert B Norman]

This New York Times coulmnist holds you should if you "fly and rent". Rather he suggests take trains - albeit with one exception - the Corridor (too expensive):

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/24/opin ... aming.html

Fair Use:

.You can also substitute cleaner forms of travel, in whole or in part, for airplanes and road trips. Like a good New Yorker, I gave up my car years ago and now visit family in Boston and Washington by bus, not by plane. The train over those routes is too expensive for my taste, but I did take a very pleasant, T.S.A.-free Amtrak trip from Miami to Orlando earlier this year for $33. It is true that a trip to Paris will require air travel, assuming no crew offers you a ride on a racing yacht. But from there you don’t need to flit around Europe on discount airlines. Take trains. They aren’t just better for the environment, they are also more fun and interesting. You may not get to see as many places in as many days, but dashing from city to city is usually just frenzied bucket-list checking, anyway

[electricron]

There are two type of vacations, (1) the experience of the trip and (2) the experience of a place.
Traveling by train or by cruise ship are good choices for (1) because you can see the scenery as you ride by. Traveling by planes or by anther very fast mode of transit are good choices for (2) because you should have more time there.

[David Benton]

As a Greenie , I feel no guilt using regular passenger trains and commuter services. On the contrary, my thinking its it is making a public transport service more viable by using it , usually in off peak times when the train/bus is not full anyway.
Flying , yes well, I buy cheap tickets to take the kids to see their grandparents , or to just give them a travel experience, trips I probably wouldn't take on my own. When its a case of $ 100 for plane tickets, or $ 400 to take the train , the plane wins.
As to (co) owning 1 motorhome( RV) , 2 trucks , a tractor and a digger, 5 cars( all oldish) , 4 motorbikes( in storage) - Guilty as charged. All for business/ farm purposes you understand , your honor( and the IRS).

[David Benton]

A European perspective from the BBC.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2019090 ... for-trains

[eolesen]

Burning 8 gallons of fuel per hour in our motorhome towing our Jeep does require quite a bit of green...

Arguably, though, it's still less impact in terms of CO2 and energy used up by flying, staying in hotels, and renting an auto or using Uber. And taking the train or bus usually isn't an option where we choose to travel.

[mtuandrew]

Yikes, Mr. Olesen, I’d be investing in my own biodiesel plant and hitting up every McDonalds I could find for used fryer grease. Well, I’d actually invest in a small trailer or pop-up camper myself, or rent a big RV in the desired area, but that isn’t everyone’s cup of gasoline

Would be interesting to do the math on RV life vs hotel stays (in terms of money, carbon emissions & energy consumption, and time), but that’s not the purpose of this thread. What could be intriguing is to look into latent demand for a nationwide Auto Train network operated as second sections of existing Amtrak long-distance trains.

[David Benton]

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20 ... er-tourist

Extra time off for using trains!

[mtuandrew]

Moderator Note: time out. Will consult and review.

[John_Perkowski]

Some off topic material is being deleted. Warnings may be given.

[mtuandrew]

Moderator Note: reopened. Keep the discussion on the merits of vacation by train travel. Or else.

[David Benton]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/kiwi-tra ... g-movement
"Why New Zealand will never fully embrace the flight-shaming movement"
Lack of trains as a viable alternative , I guess.

[Gilbert B Norman]

Mr. Benton, as I reviewed your immediately linked material, every time I noted a reference to NZ, I found that USA could easily been substituted (reference Wellington to Auckland would be Chicago to Minneapolis).

Over here, restaurants are now disclosing on their menus, in addition to price of course, the calorie count for each item; when will the day come that a transportation company be required to disclose the carbon (and other bad stuff) count for, along with the fare, a particular journey.

When will an automaker, along with the required disclosure of fuel miles/klicks pg/l, be required to disclose carbon emissions for same?

Earlier this week, I completed a 1714 mile auto trip to Greenwich CT and return. I had some Virginia wine with me (not sold in either CT or IL) for a party my Sister was hosting, and I don't think TSA "uh exactly" enjoys "winking" at a couple of bottles being carried "planeside". Further on the ORD-HPN route, it's American or United puddle jumpers - and those two are "not exactly known" for their fare wars with one another.

Also rented autos, "don't come on the cheap" in the NY area.

Now I know my exact costs for fuel, tolls, and provision for maintenance. What I DON'T know is how much carbon was emitted during the trip and how that would have compared with other modes.

Now here's something about which that Swedish girl could get on her soapbox. Lest we forget, the US Congress is "occupied with other matters".

[mtuandrew]

Moderator Note: this topic is going on vacation. We’ll revisit at a later point - thanks for your patience.