About this experience
Passenger transportation in the USA exists, but the number of trains is quite small. However, it was not always like this. What went wrong and why did the northeast coast end up in a more advantageous position than the rest of the country? We will ride on electric trains around New York and its surroundings, visit the most important transfer hubs, and find the answer to this question.
What to Expect
In the USA, there are cities and even whole states that have been left out of passenger train routes. People may live in close proximity to the railway and see freight trains every day without knowing what a passenger train looks like. But there are areas where passenger trains play an important role. These are California, the Midwest (within a couple of hundred miles radius of Chicago), and most importantly, the Boston-Washington corridor, at the center of which lies New York.
Our tour will start at the oldest station in the city, Grand Central. We will travel through a modern railway tunnel towards the main transfer station of the Long Island Rail Road. I will tell you about the history of this station and the peculiarities of railway transport in the region (and in the country as a whole). Then we will head to Penn Station - the main station of New York, with a very rich history! We will also visit two transfer hubs in the nearby New Jersey.
You will learn:
- how a superpower, whose railways were once the best in the world, fell so far behind Europe and Asia in a couple of decades;
- if Americans are really so in love with cars;
- why, unlike other cities, it is very rare to see freight trains in New York;
- why different types of current collectors are used on different suburban lines in electric trains;
- and much more!
So, welcome to the railway world of New York!
Organizational Details
Rides on electric trains are paid separately. The total cost of all trips included in our tour does not exceed $35 per person.
