Don't take the train

 

I'm not planning on it, after reading this.

We Should All Be Embarrassed By This Train

Large excerpt:

"It’s worth looking into a specific comparison to see how flat [Amtrak] NextGen falls. Tokyo to Hiroshima is about a 500-mile journey. Direct Shinkansen service is bookable for the route with trips ranging between 3.5 and 4 hours in duration. The trains run about every 15 minutes during peak times, and on a recent day when I searched for pricing, they cost $133.

Washington, D.C. to Boston is a 450-mile drive. NextGen train service between the two cities has a scheduled time of 7 hours and 5 minutes. I cannot stress this enough: for some unholy reason, the trip is 11 minutes longer than the “quickest” traditional Acela departure running the same route on the same day. Huh? Glad we got those sweet new trains!

Including traditional Acela and NextGen service, there were a grand total of eight departures on a weekday. Tickets a month in advance started from $217 for the lowest fare business seats and ranged up to $526. Prices skyrocket further on short-notice bookings. Shinkansen fares, meanwhile, remained within a few bucks of $133 whether I was searching for today, tomorrow, next week, or next month. Did I mention they run every 15 minutes? And get you there in half the time?

Then there’s the reliability to consider. Japanese bullet trains operate on a precise schedule and are the epitome of dependability. I’ve ridden dozens without arriving more than a few minutes before or after a scheduled ETA. Amtrak ETAs are like plumber appointments; you can expect to arrive within a theoretical four-hour window on your chosen day.

To be fair, though, both systems are devout about their timetables: Shinkansen trains are religiously on time. On Amtrak, arriving at your scheduled ETA is considered a sanctified miracle.

The current Shinkansen trains aren’t in their final iteration, either. Like an episode of the country’s beloved Dragonball Z, they are still powering up to reach a new form. Japan has been steadfast about improving its train service throughout the decades. When the Shinkansen debuted in 1964, it topped out at 130 miles per hour. Today it hits 200 mph. Not complacent with that, the country has long been developing its SCMaglev service, which has been tested at speeds up to 375 mph. In practice during operation, it’s planned to top out at a mere 314 mph."

Nope. Not gonna do it.  But I'll take the train if I go to Japan.

Which is sad, because the NextGen Acela does look somewhat cool.