Amtrak Silver Meteor train arriving at the Orlando, Florida station.

Who’s Taking the Train is about people who choose to travel by passenger train in America. My reporting about the people I meet on board a train will give a glimpse of why this mode of transportation is vital or just fun for so many. Some are newbies to train trips. Some are veteran train travelers. Others take the train infrequently. Travel by train may be their first choice, only choice, or last choice.

I hadn’t been on a passenger train myself for years. Once I boarded the train again, I became enamored. It’s always an adventure. You can read about my background and interest in train travel on the About page. The irony of going back to something you loved is its ability to move you forward.

The people I meet on trains are not celebrities. They read headlines but don’t make them. I think of them still. The young Amish woman traveling from Tijuana, Mexico to Pittsburgh with her elderly parents. Sherry, the tattooed woman traveling from Florida to New York. Jimmy in Washington DC going to Wyoming to change his life. And Linda heading to Flint, Michigan to help her family get through the water crisis there. In these first posts I change the names of the people I met to protect their privacy. At the time we talked I wasn’t sure what I would do with their stories, only that I wanted to hear them. These blog posts are shortened, edited versions of the original work.Continue reading→