I took Amtrak to Washington from Newark, after a brief visit to meet my cousin. A train ride is something I always like. It took just under three hours to arrive at Union Station. Speeding through the US countryside and looking out of the window was very relaxing. For some reason, trains need to soothe, while short airline rides tend to make one more anxious
The train network is what the US built decades ago, and could definitely do with an upgrade in terms of speed – like China’s High Speed Rail.
Trains are the lifeline of a country. And upgradation of the train network is what India needs to invest in – we are still stuck in the 60-70 km/per hour average speed for the most part for our so-called “express/superfast” trains. That needs to at least double if not treble in the years to come. Mamata Banerjee could have inspired the nation bold and big initiatives during her short stint (since she is all set to take over as West Bengal CM next year after the elections), but I guess that is too much to expect from our political leadership.
