OVERNIGHT TRAVEL: FROM WORST TO FIRST

There’s something very satisfying about the efficiency of overnight travel.  In the best of conditions you make your journey and awake, refreshed, at your destination.  But how well you sleep depends a lot on how you travel.

Here’s my list of overnight travel options, from worst to first:

DRIVING ALL NIGHT:       In my carefree youth I once drove all night from Chicago to NYC.  Tired and wired (on a LOT of coffee) I encountered no traffic and made really good time but arrived exhausted.  Not a good option… and probably not safe.

SLEEPING IN THE AIRPORT:     This one doesn’t really count, as you’re not really traveling.  And those not-so-comfy chairs at the gate don’t really allow much sleep.

The good news is that many airports (ATL, DFW, JFK) now offer Minute Suites with daybeds and showers. You can book them for an hour ($48) or for an eight-hour overnight ($175).

SLEEPING ON THE PLANE:       It’s not by chance that overnight flights are called “red eyes”.  Sure, flying overnight is fast, but if you’re sitting in coach on a crowded plane, good luck with any shut-eye.  This is why I hate flying to Europe.  You arrive jet lagged, in a different time zone and anxious to just sleep, not go sight-seeing.

Coach Class

Now, if you’re in Business Class, rest is possible… at a price.  And if money is no object, there are ultra-luxe accommodations like on Air France’s La Premiere, a private suite ten-feet square with three-star gourmet meals curated by Michelin-starred chefs, served on porcelain with Christofle cutlery… and a full bed.  Roundtrip fare JFK-Paris, about $20,000.

La Premiere

TAKING THE BUS:           “Riding the dog” (Greyhound) is not my idea of fun anytime, but there are some private companies re-thinking bus travel with much comfier accommodations. In Texas, Vonlane offers “luxury motor coaches” with Business Class seating.  Similar service between NYC and DC is offered by private carriers but not on the overnights.

TRAVEL BY SHIP:            Alas, not many options here aside from cruising or crossing the Atlantic.  But in the old days, there were steamboats plying the waters between Hartford and New York City.  As I wrote a few months back, the 14-18 hour journey had both “deck class” and cabin class accommodations.

TRAVEL BY TRAIN:         Not surprising that this is my favorite option.  But as with flying, if you’re stuck in coach class your slumber may be less than optional.  Amtrak offers bedrooms… from Roomettes to Bedroom Suites… but they’re always booked weeks in advance and are far too expensive.

There are several start-ups looking to offer much nicer (and affordable) sleeping cars, like Dreamstar which hopes to launch next year between San Francisco and LA.  And Lunatrain, running NYC to Atlanta and Chicago.

We’ll have to see if either company is successful in its launch, modeled after the highly popular NightJet train service you’ll find throughout Europe. Even in Japan, the country that launched true high-speed rail 50 years ago, there are sleeper trains offering everything from cabins to tatami mats.

Japan's "Sunrise Express"

So, as you plan your summer travels, check out these options.  You’ll save on hotel rooms and maybe have an adventure!

 

 

WIRES DOWN ON METRO-NORTH

We take our train service for granted.  For the 80,000 daily Connecticut riders on Metro-North the service is dependable and on-time… usually.  But not last Thursday evening (June 5^th), the hottest day of the year (so far), when the overhead catenary power lines were dragged down near Westport.  No power means no trains.

What caused the problem won’t be known for a while.  Given the heat it might be “wire sag”.  Or maybe it was a worn out pantograph carbon shoe (the thing on top of the train that touches the catenary power line).  Whatever the cause, the results were fast and long-lasting.

Scores of trains were delayed throughout the Northeast Corridor, both on Metro-North and Amtrak. But two were stranded between stations with no power… and no AC.  One, an Amtrak train carrying 400 people, got very hot.  Because the windows don’t open, people started to get upset according to media reports.

Metro-North trains have long carried emergency water supplies for such incidents, but not Amtrak trains.

Eventually diesel trains came to the rescue (along with local fire fighters), but the delays were far from over… lingering into Friday’s service the next day.

How did passengers on the delayed and rerouted trains make out?  Based on interviews, pretty well given the circumstances and Metro-North’s quick response.

Substitute buses are usually the answer, but at the peak of rush hour (when the incident occurred) most buses were already on their regular runs.  It’s not like there’s a fleet of spare buses on standby.  And remember… a full Metro-North train can carry 1000 passengers.  A bus, maybe 60 (including standees).

A reporter friend of mine who lives in eastern Connecticut grabbed the 5:22 pm train from Grand Central to New Haven and, within minutes of departure the hundreds of passengers onboard were warned of problems:  the train would terminate at South Norwalk.

South Norwalk station

There he caught a bus, only to be dumped somewhere in East Norwalk when the driver pulled to a stop and said “I’m done working, everybody off.  There’s another bus coming.” 

“None of us knew where we were,” said my friend, eventually paying $120 for a cab to West Haven where he’d parked his car.  He eventually got home about 11:45 pm.

“Everybody was pretty ‘chill’ and patient,” he said, impressed that Metro-North staffers wearing distinctive vests were at the stations directing the throngs.  “I’m just glad that Metro-North was doing something,” he said.  “The whole experience taught us just how vulnerable we are when things go wrong.”

Greens Farms station

Another colleague, Paul Murnane from WINS, caught an 8:00 pm train from GCT, getting no further than Greens Farms where the platform was jammed with tired travelers.  Sure enough, vested railroad staffers directed the throngs down a hill to three waiting buses which immediately filled up and departed.  More buses were promised and quickly arrived. Murnane’s bus even got a State Police escort, arriving in Fairfield at 11:30 pm.

Again, he says the crowds were patient and well behaved.  “It’s hard to have a riot in Vineyard Vines,” he said, commenting on the riders’ summer attire.  A 40-year rider of these rails, he too was impressed with the railroad’s response.

Stuff happens on a railroad depending on aging infrastructure.  So if you’re taking a train, always have a “plan B”.  And BYO water.

And kudos to Metro-North for their handling of this situation, especially for keeping passengers informed.