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Traveling by train is such a 'civilized' way to travel.  I now take the train from Albany, OR to Salinas CA to visit my parents.  We leave the car in Albany and enjoy the trip to California.  Big comfortable seats, no worries about driving, beautiful views, access to snacks and meals.  We read books, play games and relax - none of the hassles that airplane travel engenders.  I believe we need a high-speed rail system along the I5 corridor from San Diego to Vancouver, BC.  The current route was put in before there were roads and travels up into the mountains on a route that makes hiway 58 seem straight.  Many of my friends don't take the train because of the frequent side-lining due to freight - this can be fixed.

During the time that the train was out of commission due to a landslide high in the mountains by Chemault, I took the bus to Sacramento (I hadn't taken the bus since about 1980...).  I now remember why.  There is no comparison between bus and rail travel, and I really don't think one should be made.

Let's spend some of our infrastructure dollars on this much-neglected form of travel.

Larry Plotkin in Corvallis.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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I'd like to see some of the stimulus money spent on passenger rail down the I5 corridor.  Amtrak doesn't cut it - their route was established probably 100 years ago and they play 2nd fiddle to freight making them extremely unreliable.  Better yet, lets have a modern passenger rail system from Vancouver, BC to San Diego, Ca!

In Corvallis I'd like to see the 'rails to trails' bike path from Corvallis to Albany along Hwy 20 completed.  We didn't have the money a few years ago.

Larry Plotkin

Corvallis, OR

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
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