I just got back from a two-week trip to Italy, where a friend and I met up with my son and daughter-in-law (they’re spending the year in London on post-law and post-doc fellowships). We flew into Rome, spent a night catching up on our sleep, and then took a high-speed train to Cinque Terre, the picturesque string of five villages that dot the cliffs just below Genoa. The 3 hour 44 minute train ride was incredibly relaxing and enjoyable and it arrived on time in La Spezia. We had the same soothing experience taking the train from Venice to Rome the following week.
In fact, all the train rides we took in Italy were on time (with the exception of the local trains in Cinque Terre, which were inundated with locals and tourists on holiday over Easter weekend), and I was struck by the difference between Trenitalia and Amtrak, which even on its best high-speed route (the Acela between Boston and New York) is invariably delayed. It wasn’t that the Italian trains were much faster than Acela — reaching a maximum of 155 miles vs 150 miles — they just felt smoother, more comfortable and more professionally run, with frequent announcements about impending stops, electronic screens showing the train route and, as I mentioned before, on-time arrivals. Seating was much more spacious than the sardine seating the airlines offer today, and we could get up and roam around to our heart’s content. The food in the dining car was delicious, but then again Italian food, even in the most casual venue, beats most American food hands down. The other big benefit was assigned seating, so there was no great rush to get on board and find a seat. Acela only offers assigned seats in its expensive first-class cars. And even the coach fare on Acela (from Boston to New York) is twice as expensive as the trip from Venice to Rome, even though both trips take the same amount of time (roughly four hours).
I can’t help wonder why the wealthiest nation on earth can’t get its act together when it comes to high-speed rail. I think a lot of Americans would prefer to take a relaxing train ride to driving and flying, if they had the kind of rail options that Italy offers its citizens. I realize that the Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, includes $22 billion for improvements to Amtrak, so here’s hoping that this money goes a long way toward providing the kind of high-speed rail service that Italians have come to take for granted.
