Is High-Speed Rail a Top Choice for Your Business Travel?
Posted on 15. Feb, 2011 by Kat Schneider Fotheringham in Blog, Business Travel, corporate housing, corporate housing blog, executive accommodations, high speed rail, mass transportation, tchnetwork.com, the corporate housing network
I love traveling by train. There’s just something about it. It’s a hell of a lot more productive than driving (duh), as I can bang out personal and professional work during the commute. It’s way more convenient than air travel, as there is less downtime while on the train (between not having to turn off electronics with take-off and landing), not having to wait endlessly in the terminal or during connections, not having to walk for miles within the airport itself, blah blah blah. And, let’s not mention the biggest attraction: the bar food car. Or, better yet, what about the fact that on a train, they don’t make you dump your flasks liquids out before boarding.
Having said that, I’m in favor of Biden’s recent announcement that the Obama administration will dedicate another $8 billion toward high-speed rail in the proposed U.S. federal budget. It doesn’t sit well with some, as opinions are flying concerning the budget being spread to thinly across the U.S., instead of focusing on the highly congested northeast corridor. I can see their point — I’m from New York, and the first decade of my professional career was spent on mass transportation throughout this corridor. And, it IS congested alright.
Some of these high-speed rails will run at average speeds between 125 and 250 miles per hour. I wouldn’t mind being on a comfy train car, banging away at my laptop, going that fast. I just hope they will use some of those billions of dollars making the Amtrak stations not seem (or smell) so ghetto. I mean, are they trying to attract business people and families, or have them hold on for dear life to their computer bags (or small children) while waiting to board the fast track?
