Amtrak, America’s passenger rail service, is often chided by politicians as a waste in a country obsessed with automobiles, but current economic pressures and the incomparable luxuries of rail travel may finally be getting the attention it deserves.  The rail system in the US pales in comparison to European counterparts, mostly due to lack of public funds, but a writer for Triple Pundit recently tried train travel on California’s Coast Starlight route from LA to San Francisco.
The trip cost $72, $50 less than a flight would have been, though the trip took an extra eight hours or so.  [...]

One part of the new economic stimulus plan environmentally conscious americans are excited about is the $8 billion investment in a new railroad system. The investment, the largest in US history, is set to enliven and modernize the form of transport through the development of a high-speed rail system that will link cities across the nation. Treehugger explains:
…The only sector in which Amtrak makes an actual operating profit on running trains is in the Northeast, where larger cities are closer together than in other parts of the nation, and the primary infrastructure has been in place for decades. Obama hopes [...]

High speed bullet trains are eclipsing airplanes as the preferred method of intercity travel in Spain. Traditionally, air travel was the way to traverse the long distances (typically 300 miles apart) between cities in the large country. Barcelona and Madrid are 410 miles apart, which previously helped create the busiest air travel route in the world. But in February of 2008 the new 220 mph train system linked up the two cities, and ridership has boomed. With a faster travel time, less delays and a lighter ecological footprint, more people are getting on board the train system.
Wired reports:
Airlines carried 72 [...]