The Gadfly NOT On The Amtrak Wall

A post on the Oklahoma blog SoonerThought today about AMTRAK apparently about to be asked to ponder a Kansas City-Oklahoma City route reminds me that a few weeks ago, contemplating a trip to Louisville this spring, I pondered the possibility of taking AMTRAK for the trip.

Not gonna happen.

AMTRAK's biggest problem (you can't get there from here) reared its ugly head and helps explain why so many who might be inclined to ride the rails opt for other means.

Getting from Oklahoma City to Louisville via AMTRAK means more time on Greyhound buses than aboard trains. I kid thee not.

To hook up with AMTRAK's Southwest Chief requires a nine-hour bus ride from Oklahoma City to Kansas City. Then, it's a seven-hour train ride to Chicago, where one hooks up with the 50 Cardinal train to Indianapolis, a six-hour or so trip. Then, it's back aboard Greyhound for an 11-hour bus ride to Louisville. Twenty hours on buses, 13 hours on trains. Hardly the ideal "train trip" one might envision.

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