Trains: A Relic, a Luxury, or a Potential Solution?
In the decades before cars became commonplace in the 1960s, sleeper trains were the primary method of long-distance travel across the United States. Now, however, the overnight train is often considered a luxury item. But with rising concerns about air travel and growing awareness of environmental issues, is it time for that perception to change and for sleeper trains to make a comeback?
Recently, Apolline Lamy, a Streetsblog USA fall intern, while traveling on a night train from Paris to Nice, began pondering the state of sleeper trains in the U.S. She shared a berth with five other women in a women-only sleeping car, which felt a bit like a sleepover. However, the experience also felt like a sisterhood. Unlike cramped airplanes, she had a twin bed with fresh sheets and a pillow. At 10 p.m., the conductor announced, “Bonne nuit. The announcements will stop until the next stop in Marseille at 6 am.” She fell asleep to this lullaby and woke to the smell of breakfast from a fellow passenger’s meal and a view of the Mediterranean Sea.
Since moving from France to the U.S., Lamy hasn’t taken an overnight train like that because they are so few and far between. The romance of sleeper trains was captured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 masterpiece North by Northwest, but this era faded as the U.S. built its interstate highway system. As more Americans turned to automobiles, train travel declined considerably. Air travel also contributed to the drop in rail use.
These shifts have had serious environmental consequences. For the same distance, night trains in the European Union produce just 3.6% of the greenhouse gas emissions of a plane. As concern about climate change increases alongside a fear of air travel, sleeper trains could be poised for a comeback if the U.S. invests in rail infrastructure like Europe and Asia.
A Tenant on The Rails
America has historically regulated trains more strictly than cars, while investing far less federal money in trains than highways, according to Professor Owen Gutfreund, Associate Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College. “The highway system made it much easier to drive long distances,” said Gutfreund. “The buses were not hindered by the same regulations that railroads faced, and the buses could use the free long-distance highways to travel.”
While Congress created Amtrak in 1971 to provide more federal support, it generally doesn’t own the tracks on which trains travel, except on the Northeast Corridor. This means Amtrak is essentially a tenant. If a passenger train is stuck behind a freight carrier, it will slow down to match the freight train’s speed.
“The freight trains are running 35 miles an hour, so it makes it very difficult for Amtrak to operate 80 mile per hour trains, even though that’s by international standards quite slow,” said Sean Jeans-Gail, the Vice-President of the National Association of Railroad Passengers.
The Pros of Sleeper Trains
Some argue that the slower pace of sleeper trains is an advantage. Sojourner White, also known as the Train Travel Queen, took about 52 hours to travel from Chicago to San Francisco by train. She argues that this long trip was not just a mode of transportation, but also an opportunity for a mental reset and a chance to engage in new activities.
“Growing up, when I would go on road trips, I would have a CD player; now I have podcasts, I bring books, I bring a word search, and I look at the view in the observation car,” said White. “I feel like the hustle culture is definitely how we operate a lot in the US, and it’s nice to take a break from that.”
Another benefit of sleeper trains, White said, is the opportunity to meet people. Often eating in the dining car, she meets other travelers. “It’s some small talk of who are you, where are you from, what are you doing on the train by yourself.” These conversations led to discussions about life beyond the rails.
The Cons
However, White acknowledges that sleeper trains are a luxury that requires a lot of time. Getting enough vacation time to take a 52-hour trip is difficult in America. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in March 2024, American employees get about 11 vacation days after one year of service in private industry, and 13 in state and local government. In contrast, European countries, where sleeper trains are common, tend to have much more generous vacation policies. For instance, employees in France and Germany often get 25 to 30 paid vacation days annually.
Sleeper trains are also expensive. White paid $800 for her Chicago to San Francisco ticket. Jeans-Gail wishes for more affordable overnight trains, but the price of popular routes remains high.
“I would love to get an overnight sleeper car for an affordable price,” said Jeans-Gail. “But oftentimes because the Portland to San Francisco is a very popular route [with] very beautiful scenery, it is tough to find a sleeper car for less than a thousand.” In contrast, a train ticket from Paris to Nice cost Lamy only 40 euros ($44 USD).
According to Jeans-Gail, the price is a matter of economics: there are few overnight trains and high demand. Limited government funding may not increase that supply soon.
Public Investment and Infrastructure
Expensive overnight train prices cannot be fully understood without considering public investment in automobile infrastructure, according to Gutfreund: “You could drive hundreds and hundreds of miles without paying anything other than a very, small gas tax, which didn’t come close to paying for the real costs of the infrastructure. Railroads have to pay for their own infrastructure costs where cars don’t.” The U.S. government provides financial aid for highway construction and maintenance through programs like the Federal-Aid Highway Program while funding for rail is limited.
In Europe, the situation is often reversed, with less public support for highway infrastructure and more funding for rail. Gutfreund explained, “The rail has better funding in Europe and also the automobile has less direct subsidy in Europe. You have to look at both sides of the scale to understand why rail is less popular in the US. The cultural power of a hundred years of paying for automobile infrastructure and starving rail-based infrastructure has led to value automobile transport and devalued rail transport,” Gutfreund continued. “And this is rooted in American culture.”
Investing in Rail
Despite the challenges, some representatives are advocating for long-haul trains. Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass) is co-sponsoring the “All Aboard Act,” which would allocate $200 billion over five years to build high-speed rail and expand passenger rail services.
Gutfreund believes such bills are essential: “We need a sustained commitment for trains, we’ve had a sustained commitment for over a hundred years to build automobile infrastructure,” he said. “But we have had only intermittent inconsistent commitment for proper funding for rail-based transportation.”
