Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Actually just planes and trains for this comparison.

During the recent holiday season, one of my sisters came to visit. She rode the train from southern Wisconsin to Red Wing, Minnesota, the closest Amtrak station to my home. I was to meet her late evening arrival so we could enjoy a few days of sibling quality time.

The small, old, but well cared for train station had a dozen people or so anxiously waiting on that cold night to board the train for a variety of west-bound destinations, or to meet travelers like me. As the time got closer to the train’s ETA, I sent sis a text message to let her know I would be there when she arrived.

The text message response I received said the train had stopped on the track about 10 minutes away and passengers were advised of some delay to inspect a section of track. About that same time, waiting passengers were receiving messages on their smart-phones of a 10 minute delay, followed by another, then another. 

About an hour and a half later the train pulled up to the platform. Passengers stepped off the train, luggage was unloaded, with onward passengers onboard and some limited grumbling by passengers. The short stop at this little town was complete and off the train went.

First, I commend the railroad for inspecting the track for a possible problem before proceeding. I also understand there are differences between airline and train travel. Most trains have larger seats, in this case  not near as many passengers onboard, the ability for train passengers to stand and walk around in a spacious cabin and, of course, ticket price differences.

On the drive home, I couldn’t help but to make the comparison to a delayed airline flight arrival, say an arrival that had landed but had to park on the tarmac for a similar amount of time (hour and a half) before actually parking at the gate and deplaning.   

Apparently, there was little passenger complaining onboard that my sister witnessed, little in the train station, I saw no prime-time news report similar to a plane being “stranded on the tarmac” for 90 minutes and no internet videos posted with ranting passengers and frustrated cabin crews. When I asked sis what she did for the extra 90 minutes, she said something to the affect that, “we were all just visiting and laughing and the time passed quickly."  No passenger uprising, no free travel voucher for the inconvenience and what about free snacks and drinks while waiting??

Are train passengers really that different from airline passengers? Do train passengers not complain? Is the level of passenger complaints dependent on the price of a ticket or the size and comfort of the seat? I don’t  know... just an easy comparison that cold winter night.