Luxury train travel in the U.S. a bust? Train cars for sale

by Jamie Rhein on

Last month, GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, a luxury train company we’ve blogged about in the past stopped operations due to financial woes. It’s not that Americans aren’t interested in train travel, Amtrak’s business went up this summer, it just seems that fancy trains have a hard time making a go of it in the U.S.

Rachel Dunlap at Intelligent Travel stated her surprise that the GrandLuxe Rail wasn’t able to make a go of it. As she pointed out, it had met with great reviews.

Dunlap is stymied about the demise, particularly since luxury trains have been able to find a market outside the U.S. Just yesterday David posted about VIA Rail’s upcoming Concierge class for the discerning train traveler.

I’m thinking that one reason why luxury train travel hasn’t picked up in the U.S. is because train travel in many parts of the U.S. is not something people think about as an option. Train schedules on a day to day basis aren’t the most convenient. Although I took the train with my 6-year-old son from Cleveland to New York and loved it (see post), we took the bus back. The train would have put us into Cleveland at 4 or so in the morning, plus we don’t live in Cleveland. One trip there from Columbus was enough. The bus had several schedule options–none of them perfect, but doable.

Perhaps in the U.S., we are so attracted to the idea of speed that even if the train offers a luxurious way to go to a destination, we’re not hooked into the idea of the journey as being the pleasurable aspect. We want to be on that beach or at the tourist attraction–and quick.

Although, cruise ships have done a tidy job of making the journey the thing. Except ships are huge, and there is much to do to occupy a person’s time. Not that I’ve ever been on a cruise ship, but from what I’ve heard there are several options geared to keep people from thinking much. On trains, scenery gazing and letting one’s mind wander are the major highlights.

If the U.S. peps up train travel, and passengers get used to heading to destinations on the rails more and more, perhaps luxury train travel will have another go at it. Even without the luxury, I love a train.

As Dunlap mentioned in her post,the GrandLuxe train cars are for sale.

Amtrak Can Be Cheap

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was looking for information on the GrandLuxe Limited train trips, I discovered that Amtrak does have some terrific travel deals for last minute travel. For example, if you want to go to Chicago, Illinois from Indianapolis, Indiana in a couple of days, the ticket costs just $10.80. It’s a five and a half hour trip which makes it about $2 an hour.

(The photo is of the Amtrak train passing at Wacker Drive along the Chicago River.)

These deals are found in the Hot Deals section under Weekly Specials. Other deals I found are New York to Savanah, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois to Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Kansas City, Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri. There are deals for the return trips also so hopefully you won’t get stuck and not able to get back without paying a hefty fare for the return.

In general, Amtrak also offers cheaper travel from any destination for the 2 to 15 age group. Every day those fares are half price. You can also get discounts if you are a student, senior citizen, AAA member, in the military or a family member of a person in the miliatary, or a member of the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP).

I’d love to do one of these cheap trips. I suppose I could drive to Indianapolis (about 3 hours from Columbus, Ohio) and then take the train to Chicago. It would be cheaper than the gas and tolls, but where would I keep my car? Better to drive after all.