While the states are not exactly in the business of providing luxuries or booze, it does beg the question "what is a luxury"?
If they would provide hard subway-style seats and opening windows, the states would save a lot in capital and maintenance costs. Imagine how much cheaper Metro North cars would be without A/C. Nothing to buy or maintain other than a set of opening windows.
Before everybody goes nuts and says "we hafta have AC!!!!" ask yourself is that a luxury? At one time it was. So was padded seats. Given that subway trains still run with hard seats and folks ride them for an hour or so in many cases, the case for padded seats is pretty thin. Same with AC. Quite a few subways run without AC- Buenos Aires and London for example. London just provides signs that suggest passengers hydrate well before boarding trains in the summer, and it is a bit hot to say the least.
Long story short, it's not hard to poke a hole in the "states don't do luxury" argument.
If they would provide hard subway-style seats and opening windows, the states would save a lot in capital and maintenance costs. Imagine how much cheaper Metro North cars would be without A/C. Nothing to buy or maintain other than a set of opening windows.
Before everybody goes nuts and says "we hafta have AC!!!!" ask yourself is that a luxury? At one time it was. So was padded seats. Given that subway trains still run with hard seats and folks ride them for an hour or so in many cases, the case for padded seats is pretty thin. Same with AC. Quite a few subways run without AC- Buenos Aires and London for example. London just provides signs that suggest passengers hydrate well before boarding trains in the summer, and it is a bit hot to say the least.
Long story short, it's not hard to poke a hole in the "states don't do luxury" argument.
The new Acela: It's not Aveliable.