[jamesbressi]

I wish we could get this on the East Coast. D.C. -> Philadelphia -> NYC -> Boston

I would easily pay $1000 to $1500 a month.

It would as affordable as an Amtrak pass and just as convenient.

The possibilities for those who don't want to move to another city for work but want to broaden their options (or course if your salary range allows--but if you are making 100k or more it is brilliant).

[melling]

D.C. to Philly is 140 miles. Philly to NYC is 90 miles. NYC to Boston is 220 miles. Is it really necessary to spend $1000-$1500 a month to go that short of a distance? There's 50 year old technology that went into commercial use before man stepped foot on the moon. This is insane.

At some point America is going to realize that it needs a 21st century infrastructure. It's going to cost a lot more in 20-30 years, of course.

[equark]

Amtrak Acela, Boston - NYC is $173 one-way and takes 3 hours and 30 minutes. That quickly adds up.

[dwynings]

They actually had planned to launch on the East Coast, but changed their minds because of the train services there.

More info: http://pandodaily.com/2012/04/05/silicon-valley-gets-its-own...

[melling]

"So, will this model work? That’s a big question. They had originally planned to launch it on the East Coast but quickly realized, with the train service there, it wasn’t a great market."

Kind of funny. We don't even have high-speed rail in this country yet. The distance between LA and San Francisco is less than 400 miles. Someday it'll be a 2 hour train trip, but it's looking like it'll be another 100 years at this point.

[bookshlf]

I'm in favor of better quality rail service in this country but for various reasons it's not simple.

Acquiring land already developed on to get lines in and out of larger cities isn't simple, and building underground routes like the "Chunnel" to get out of city centers isn't cheap.

And, I agree, there is a cultural perspective of rail travel that changed dramatically once it became affordable for so many to own a car.