Today in America, nearly three million people catch a flight every day. Over the last hundred years, commercial aviation has evolved into such a regular part of life that booking a flight rarely provokes a second thought. Explaining this phenomenon is relatively simple. Planes are fast, safe, reliably scheduled, piloted by someone else, and benefit from billions of dollars in local, state, and federal infrastructure investments.
All of these factors in concert make taking a flight an appealing option. However, flying is not without its flaws and hassles. Let’s take a look at how another mode, passenger rail, compares to flying, particularly for trips less than 400 miles, which is considered the “sweet spot” for train travel. At these distances, the benefits of rail travel can outshine traditional air travel.
Expenses are a significant concern while traveling. Of course there’s the cost of your flight and checked bag—if you’re traveling with your family, these expenses multiply. But there’s also a whole slate of ancillary expenses to consider. When flying, unless you live near an airport with reliable public transit or can get a ride from a friend or family member, you face a choice between an unusually expensive taxi/rideshare ride to the airport or paying to park in an airport lot. In the airport, stores and restaurants charge exorbitant prices, assisted by the fact that they’re your only options for food, drink (don’t forget—bottles larger than 3.4 oz aren’t allowed through TSA), convenience items, etc.
All sorts of products–from snacks to soda to Claritin–often receive hefty markups in airports.
When taking the train, tickets will typically cost less than a flight along the same route, but that’s only where the savings begin. Train stations are usually located in city centers, which reduces the cost of getting to them. Furthermore, you can patronize any nearby restaurant or shop for your needs, and their prices are generally much lower than their airport counterparts. As an added benefit to their centrality, train stations tend to be a well-served node of the local public transportation network.
Denver’s Union Station sits in the middle of a bustling neighborhood and is served by more than half a dozen local rapid transit lines.
As we experience warmer winters, hotter summers, and an assortment of increasingly destructive natural disasters, it’s important to keep in mind that flying has severe consequences for the environment. Burning jet fuel ejects carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and soot directly into the upper atmosphere. Further, the typically long distance of airports from city centers encourages environmentally destructive sprawl as they develop into freight hubs and employment centers.
Jet exhaust injects soot and extensive CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Over the last two decades, total carbon dioxide emissions from aviation have increased faster than total emissions from road, rail, or shipping.
Trains, in comparison, emit less carbon dioxide per passenger than any other powered transportation mode, and the aforementioned centrality of their stations encourages dense development and public transportation. While many trains still use diesel fuel, they are capable of being electrified and could run entirely on renewable energy—something the aviation industry aspires to, yet appears to be decades away from achieving.
Efforts to electrify railway lines across America are gaining momentum. Electric trains can operate without the burning of any fossil fuels.
Then, there’s the reality that your travel time—denoted from departure to arrival—fails to account for the time you spend in an airport preparing for your flight. Most airports recommend that you arrive 90 minutes before your flight to check in, drop off your bags, go through TSA, and find your gate.
Even 90 minutes isn’t always enough lead time for a busy airport.
While airplanes are the public’s fastest mode of transportation, the procedures required to board and deplane add to travel time. As a result of these additional necessities, if your flight is less than two hours it’s likely that a conventional passenger rail option, if available for your route, would be a strong competitor in terms of travel time.
Boarding a train is as simple as being ready on the platform at your departure time and getting on.
Speaking of travel time, for many passengers, there’s a good amount of stress associated with getting on a plane. From arriving at the airport early enough to concerns about whether the food in your carry-on will make it through the TSA checkpoint, the weight and size of your bags, etc. There’s also the chance that your checked items might not arrive at your destination with you, or may not arrive at all.
In recent years, strict airline baggage policies have become a headache for travelers.
Taking the train alleviates these stressors. Trains tend to have generous baggage policies, fewer security hassles, and less required before departure, which can allow you to arrive at the station minutes before your departure time. If you’re anxious about your bags arriving with you, on a train you’re in luck, as many have baggage storage areas on each car as well as space in your overhead compartment that can fit a full-size suitcase.
Your personal items are easily accessible for the duration of your journey.
Beyond stress, flying tends to be limited in comfort. Average legroom has shrunk over the past few decades on each of the major airlines—good luck if a passenger in front of you reclines their seat. In addition, on a plane you find yourself in a constrained space with low ceilings, narrow aisles, and an indicator light that often insists you keep your seatbelt buckled as you race through the sky.
As planes lift greater numbers of passengers into the skies, they’ve grown larger and larger. Their seats? Not so much.
In contrast, trains have bountiful legroom, rarely restrict your ability to get up and walk around, are more spacious for a stroll, and their massive windows provide vistas of American landscapes you’d miss from a plane.
Trains provide views that can’t be beat and a comfortable seat to take them in from.
Excitingly, passenger rail compares favorably not only to each of these downsides, but also to the attributes that make flying sound so great. It’s fast, safe, reliable, conducted by someone else, and the federal government, along with its local and state counterparts, is investing to make this a reality across more of our country.
With passenger train options limited in some areas of the United States, it’s no wonder that flying is often the default when driving feels too far. However, this may be changing in the near future.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 allocated $66 billion over five years toward funding passenger rail, and new projects connecting towns are making headlines.
By 2035, Amtrak plans on connecting more than 160 new communities to the national rail network.
Colorado’s planned 160-mile Front Range Passenger Rail project would run from Fort Collins through Denver and south to the city of Pueblo. Minnesota is planning to construct a 152-mile rail line between Duluth and Minneapolis, with the state legislature appropriating $194.7 million for the project in 2023.
Front Range Passenger Rail, in Colorado
Northern Lights Express, in Minnesota
In Michigan, we at Groundwork are assisting efforts to establish the 240-mile North-South Passenger Rail Line which would connect southeast, central, and northwest Lower Michigan for the first time in half a century. We see rail as a vital part of Michigan’s clean mobility future and will continue working toward making it a reality for Michigan residents.
North-South Passenger Rail Line, as well as several other proposed Michigan rail corridors.
There are so many benefits to rail travel. Next time you’re planning a trip, think about taking a train to your destination. And if you can’t, let your local decision makers know establishing (or re-establishing) a rail option for your community is important to you.
Michael Goldman Brown, Jr. is Groundwork’s Transportation Specialist. michael.goldmanbrown@groundworkcenter.org
