Note to European Visitors

The public transportation system in the United States is similar in operation to the systems in Europe. The major difference is the frequency of service. The normal United States local transit schedule usually is not as frequent as European intercity rail service.

A typical local service frequency is 30 minutes and some routes have longer frequencies. Also, the service may not operate as late in the evening or on weekends as in Europe. The bigger cities, such as New York where a majority of the local people use public transportation, have frequencies similar to European standards.

Please consult the schedules of the local transportation providers before deciding to use the services suggested.

Amtrak National Rail Service

The United States national train service is provided by Amtrak. Amtrak is a public agency subsidized by Federal and State governments. Frequencies close to European standards are provided in the Northeast Corridor between Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

Some Amtrak routes have a train once a day or a few times a week and there are larger metropolitian areas such as Nashville, Tennessee and Columbus, Ohio that do not have intercity train service.

Some states and larger metropolitan areas have train service that is not part of the Amtrak system. Some of these systems are mentioned on this web site. Many places in the United States can not be reached by public transportation.

High Speed rail is in the beginning phase in portions of the United States. Because of the longer travel distances, as compared to Europe, a lot of success for this endeavor would be suprising.

I will be happy to help plan a trip to the USA. Please contact me.