Conscious Choice: Training for a Better Environment

August 2000

Training for a Better Environment

by Tom Judge

Trains are probably the most environmentally friendly form of mass transportation, and too few people who consider themselves environmentalists even think of trains for leisure travel. Trains can get you there and take you back without taking up lots of space, unlike roads, and they are several times as fuel efficient as cars.

Taking the train for long distances offers unparalleled opportunities to relax while being kind to the environment. Trains traveling over shorter distances in and around Chicago also can take you to some great places to relax and have fun, although the trains themselves lack the amenities of a long-distance rail vehicle.

Rolling cross country

For people in a hurry, the idea of taking days instead of hours to get to California is appalling. A good friend of mine, an avid model railroader, once asked me about a trip to California on the California Zephyr. He was taken aback when I said it took more than two days, so I told him not to do it. For me, the fact that it takes all that time is a bonus; that enforced quiet time is one of the great attractions of the long-distance train.

If your vacation time is limited, though, you may want to squeeze in a train trip by using Amtrak and United’s combined Fly/Rail plan: you fly one way and take the train the other. I’ve done that more than once. It can allowed you to enjoy the advantages of train travel while still spending time in your destination.

What are those advantages? On a train, you can do nothing. If you haven’t had time to do nothing lately, taking a train for a few thousand miles may be an incredible luxury, especially if you manage to leave your cell phone and your laptop at home. Trains run through some beautiful scenery as well as through backyards and industrial districts. As you sit and watch the landscape, you can get a feel for the country, with its beauty and its warts.

If you’re tired, you nap. If you’re restless you walk around. You can read, work crossword puzzles, watch the scenery, or take in a movie. If you begin to feel cramped in your seat, you can get up and go to the diner for a meal or head up to the dome car for a better view or to chat with fellow passengers. There’s a certain camaraderie in the coaches or the club car that allows you to join others in conversation, though people will leave you alone if that’s your preference.

My favorite pastime is reading, so choosing the reading for a train trip is a very pleasant task. When I used to ride the Empire Builder out to Montana, I’d choose the latest Solzhenitsyn book. Then I’d delight in hour after hour of uninterrupted reading time.

Shorter hauls

I once sat on a plane alongside a white-knuckled flyer who told me that, to avoid small aircraft, she frequently traveled to Springfield, Illinois, by flying from Chicago to St. Louis and renting a car. I asked why she never took the train and she replied that she had never thought of that. I think that’s true for many people. Yet there are some great short hops available, especially for those of us living in a rail hub like Chicago.

Want to go to Milwaukee for the Circus Parade or one of the many lakefront festivals? Avoid the traffic jams at the toll booths and avoid taking your life in your hands driving down U.S. 41 — Amtrak can take you there. Take the El downtown or simply get to the Glenview station, where parking lots for weekday commuters stand empty on the weekends. Once you leave the train, cabs and buses can get you to your final destination.

You can take a run down to Springfield or up to the Twin Cities, go to Galesburg for Railroad Days, visit the Arch in St. Louis, or catch a University of Illinois football game at Champaign. You can go to Battle Creek, Michigan, for the Balloon Festival, or take the recently renewed service to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. You can ride to Janesville, Wisconsin, just for the heck of it. And the Fennville, Michigan, Goose Festival rates a special stop by Amtrak trains on one special weekend.

My wife and I frequently use the train to enhance her business trips. When she has to be off somewhere within 300 miles, she drives. We find a nearby place we’d like to go together — Giant City State Park near Carbondale was one of them — and a few days later, I hop a train. My wife picks me up at a convenient station, we play tourist for a few days, and then we drive back, together.

Local train rides

Metra has one of the finest commuter rail systems in the country, with service up to about sixty-five miles out. Most of its destinations are bedroom communities, but with a little looking, you can find ways to use Metra on the weekends for some enjoyable trips. You can leave your car at home, or use Metra as a shuttle to get you back to your car. In the city, you can use Metra’s Union Pacific North Line (UP-N), which has stops in Ravenswood and Rogers Park, so you don’t need a car at all.

You also can use Metra to get to Ravinia and avoid all the traffic or to hike at Illinois Beach State Park. The trains don’t go to the park entrance, but the Zion stop is within walking distance. You can take a train west to Brookfield Zoo, the Prairie Path, or the Great Western Trail. You can ride to Geneva for the Fox Valley Folk Fest over Labor Day. Or you can grab the South Chicago train on the Metra Electric for a great Mexican meal. The South Shore, which has stops downtown and on the south side, can take you to the Indiana Dunes for hiking or swimming. Notre Dame football games are accessible as well.

Not long ago, my wife and I started walking to Wisconsin. We drive to a suburban station on the UP-N Line, then walk on the Green Bay Trail, other trails, or even sidewalks. When we’ve done enough miles for the day, we take Metra back to the car. Sometimes we take Metra as far as we dare and simply walk back to the car.

If you find yourself getting interested in longer trips, here’s a tip for riding north: The former Chicago & North Western lines (now called Metra Union Pacific) still have left-hand operation. When there are two tracks, the track on the left hand has trains going in the direction you’re facing. But if you happen to wait on the wrong side, you can usually correct your mistake in time to catch a ride. Many a night when I get off at Ravenswood during the Ravinia season, I see people who waited on the platform on the east side, which they assumed was the outbound side. When the train pulls in and they realize their error, they charge down the stairs on one platform and up the stairs on the west side, arms full of coolers and other paraphernalia, bucking the flow of commuters who just detrained.

The automobile has eclipsed the train, of course, and Amtrak’s intercity trains are limited. So are Metra’s and South Shore’s regional operations. But with very little study, any of these lines can offer fun, energy-efficient transportation to some very good times.

The Regional Transportation Authority offers a system map that includes Metra, Pace buses and the CTA. Metra offers monthly passes, which are valid on weekends, and ten-ride tickets, which give groups a way to travel at reduced rates. The line does not yet allow bicycles, but bicycling advocates are working to make some arrangements for bikes on Metra trains. Call 836-7000 from most area codes to order a map or to get more train information.

Where should you go on Amtrak?

You can visit the Amtrak Web site for ideas or talk to frequent train riders. My personal recommendations would be the Empire Builder (Chicago/Seattle); the California Zephyr (Chicago/San Francisco); the City of New Orleans (Chicago/New Orleans); or the Southwest Chief (Chicago/Los Angeles).

Be warned that Amtrak still is, in many ways a work in progress. You will encounter late trains, especially in the East. Except for gourmet service on some experimental routes, the food is just a cut above airline food. I’ve ridden with the car attendant from Hell, arrived eight hours late, and shivered when the heat went out in January. Any driver or frequent air traveler probably has more horror stories to tell than a regular train rider, but I don’t want to leave the impression that trains are perfect.

For those hesitant about trying Amtrak, there’s some recent news. On July 6, Amtrak announced a new satisfaction guarantee. If travelers are not satisfied, Amtrak will issue a certificate good for a trip of the same length. Prior to issuing the guarantee, the company spent more than a year training all of its employees in customer service — even those who do not deal directly with the public.

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