To get to Minneapolis from my home in Oklahoma via train, I would have to take an Oklahoma City to Fort Worth (220 miles south) train, then from Fort Worth to Chicago, wait almost 24 hours to get the next train west, and finally get a train to Minneapolis, arriving 50 hours after leaving home. Minneapolis is 500 miles north of Okalhoma City, a long day's drive.
I returned from Portland ESA meeting several years ago via train part way. The leg from Portland to LA was fine. After the train left LA 5 hours late, then hit a truck on the track in LA, then had repeated delays along the route east, then simply stopped at a siding for five hours near Deming, NM because the crew had to be changed (it had used up its alloted work time for the day, a new crew had to be brought from El Paso), we finally made it to El Paso 12 hours late. Then those of us going to Fort Worth were put on a bus because we would not make our connections in San Antonio if we went via the normal train route to San Antonio. Well, we arrived in Fort Worth 16 hours late. I cashed in my ticket, rented a car, and drove home to Oklahoma. When I contacted Amtrak customer service to let them know the level of my satisfaction with the trip, I was offered vouchers for future Amtrak use to mitigate the mess. Really, do you think I wanted vouchers? Besides that, I had been bumped from my first class accomodation in LA because of overbooking. I later learned that the previous train had been cancelled and all the passengers from that one had been delayed and booked onto my train. So they were 24 hours late just from that. When my first class service was cancelled, I was given a hand written paper to give to the staff on the train letting them know that I could could have acces to the shower, and that my dining car privilege would be honored. One of the crew looked at it and said, "What is this? It looks like you are trying to make your own service upgrade." Until we have decent train service in this country, I will never ride the train again. David McNeely ---- Jonathon J Donald <[email protected]> wrote: > I like the idea of taking a train to the ESA meeting, and train travel in > general, but coming from the West coast, it would take almost 60 hours on > Amtrak! > If only we had a high speed rail line linking the eastern and western US... > > Jonathon Donald > Masters candidate, Geography > University of Nevada, Reno > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Reinmann, Andrew, Brett > Sent: Friday, April 26, 2013 10:22 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Take the Train to ESA Minneapolis > > Hello EcoLoggers, > To those of you heading to the 98th ESA conference in Minneapolis, are you > interested in reducing the environmental footprint of this year's conference? > Have you considered changing the mode of transportation you use to get there? > One of the largest environmental footprints of national conferences is the > mode of transportation its attendees take, which is often air travel. While > it may be the quickest form of transportation, flying is also the most > environmentally detrimental. > > I propose that we, as members of the world's largest professional society of > ecologists, make a formal attempt to shrink the environmental impact of this > meeting by choosing alternative means of transportation. One viable option is > train travel. I am a PhD candidate at Boston University and have taken the > train to ESA meetings for the past few years. I have effectively used the > longer travel time to work (think presentation preparation!). Although this > may not be a feasible option for everyone, if you do have the flexibility to > allow for this more environmentally responsible (and fun) alternative I urge > you to do so. Traveling by train could also provide more opportunities to > network if attendees coordinate their schedules. > > Organizing this as a group would strengthen ESA's commitment to > sustainability and stewardship while furthering ESA's ability to be a leader > and role model for other scientific societies. If just 100 of us travel > half-way across the country via train instead of flying we will mitigate > climate change to the same extent as taking 15 cars out of commission for a > whole year! This provides us with the opportunity to present our research at > a national conference while exemplifying part of the solution to the > ecological problems that confront our planet. > > Please contact me ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>) if you are > interested in taking the train to ESA or simply have questions about this > mode of transportation. I will help attendees coordinate their plans so they > can travel with other attendees. Knowing where everyone is traveling from > will also allow me to calculate the cumulative reduction in our carbon > emissions. > > Thanks! > -Andy Reinmann > > > > -- > > Andy Reinmann > > Ph.D. Candidate > Biology Department > Boston University > 5 Cummington St > Boston, MA 02215 -- David McNeely
