Rail travel is absolutely booming in North America at the moment and it’s us Australians who continue to make huge contributions to this growth. Amtrak reports that its national ridership is up 6.4 percent since the 2010 fiscal year where there were more than 28.7 million passengers. The company has just hit a record 30 million passengers for the 2011 fiscal year. This is a long-term trend which has seen Amtrak set annual ridership records in seven of the last eight fiscal years.

One of the major contributing factors for this increased growth is cost saving (who doesn’t love saving a bit of money?!)  Travelling by train has become an increasingly cost-effective alternative to planes. A search on some of the most popular rail routes taken by Australians found that the lowest airfare from New York to Washington was $186.00 roundtrip; on the train, the price was just $108.00 roundtrip. The lowest airfare from San Francisco to Vancouver was $494.00 roundtrip vs $280.00 roundtrip on the train.

Rail travel offers the door –to-door convenience that Air travel cannot offer, most major train stations are located in the heart of the city compared with airports which most are located outside of the city, adding significant travel cost and time.  One survey suggested that “travellers are considering total travel time – getting from door to door –and the full travel experience when choosing mode of transport, with 86% of people choosing rail to avoid the process of checking in, security and boarding and 66% willing to add an hour or more of total travel to their trips to avoid the hassles of long lines, airport security and baggage fees.”

Whilst rail travel can be longer than air travel, it is so much more than getting from A to B. When travelling by train you can witness some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Travelling onboard Amtrak’s California Zephyr you’ll find yourself winding through the majestic and iconic Rocky Mountains, crossing the deserts of Utah and Nevada, traversing the Sierra Nevada Mountains, ending up in the lowlands of the California Central Valley. Rail travel really is all about the ‘full travel experience’. Not only do you have spectacular scenery rushing by you, there is also much more space to move, often with the added experience of a dining car with full serviced meals and friendly wait staff.

Let’s not also forget that trains are eco-friendly, they release less carbon emissions than planes or cars.  Trains are one of the cleanest and greenest sources of transportation today; the energy efficiency of trains also means that the industry is less susceptible to those outrageous fuel prices which we have reluctantly become to accustom to.

So what are you waiting for? Jump onboard a VIA Rail, Amtrak or Rocky Mountaineer train today!