Robert Hunt is sipping coffee in a First-Class car on Amtrak’s bullet train because Al Qaeda terrorists flew two jetliners into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
The attack not only destroyed Hunt’s faith in flying, converting him into an avowed railroad commuter, but created the atrocity known as Ground Zero that has become one of the most challenging jobs of Hunt’s career.
Every Monday morning since October, this seasoned construction manager has risen at 5:30 a.m. for his weekly three-hour train commute from Providence, R.I., to Ground Zero. He takes a return train every Thursday or Friday, depending on his schedule.
“I got on the train because I was scared to fly after 9/11,” Hunt said. “But I stayed on the train because it’s just a better way to travel. It’s faster, cheaper and more productive. It’s much more comfortable too.”
He is one of many commuters who have abandoned airplanes in favor of trains, according to Amtrak. A spokeswoman said ridership on the Acela Express, which covers the Boston-New York-Washington corridor, has increased 40 percent since Sept. 11, a much-needed boost for the bankrupt rail service.
Before the attack, Hunt, a construction superintendent with Gilbane Building Co. of Providence, R.I., relied on airplanes to carry him to far-flung job sites. On occasion, he would commute to Boston by train or drive to a job in Maine.
Hunt said he will now take a train to any job within a half-day’s travel. “I have seen the awful evidence–of what can happen when you fly–every day for the last six months,” said Hunt. “I’m not easily spooked, but those are images that I’m never going to get out of my mind.”
Hunt has no worries about taking the train, believing a single train to be an unlikely terrorist target. His wife, Jeannie, also sleeps better knowing that he’s on a train, although she worries about the air quality at Ground Zero.
On this Monday, Hunt leaves his home in Seekonk, Mass., at 6:22 a.m. to make the 10-minute drive to the Providence train station. He parks his pick-up in the underground garage and waits for the arrival of Acela Express 2153.
Amtrak says it has beefed up security since Sept. 11, but there’s no visible proof of this upgrade: no searches, no inspections and no long security lines.
Hunt and his paperwork-laden backpack board the train, which today departs at 7:01 a.m. (one minute behind schedule), without so much as a request for photo identification. A conductor named John booms: “A good morning to you, Mr. Hunt.”
John takes Hunt’s ticket, which he had ordered by phone the previous week. Each week, Hunt collects his tickets from the Amtrak vending machines located in Penn Station. The tickets get him back to Providence and return him to New York the following Monday. The only form of identification he needs is a credit card.
Traveling First Class is the biggest joy of riding the train for Hunt, whose blue jeans, sneakers and windbreaker stand in stark contrast to the tailored suits and the occasional train-loving celebrity.
His coffee arrives just two minutes after he plops down in a single window seat. A steward offers to stow his backpack in the roomy overhead storage compartment and hands out complimentary copies of the New York Times.
Six minutes later, another steward serves Hunt his usual breakfast–cereal, sliced melons and kiwi, a toasted bagel, strawberry yogurt and grapefruit juice. His cup of coffee is refreshed every five minutes.
Hunt usually peruses his paper until he is done with breakfast. He occasionally looks up to survey the beautiful coastal scenery that rushes by his window, pointing out the lighthouses, sand dunes and deserted winter beaches.
That is about the time the Acela reaches its top speed of 150 miles per hour.
When he finishes breakfast, Hunt pulls out his laptop computer, plugs it into a seat-side power outlet and starts filling out his weekly expense forms. Hunt usually works during the bulk of his three-hour commute.
He feels no guilt for his First-Class accommodations.
According to Hunt’s calculations, Gilbane spends $348 a week to send him to New York City by train. That includes $320 for his First-Class Acela Express ticket, $25 for parking and $3 for subway rides.
Traveling by plane, even if he were to ride Coach and order his ticket two weeks in advance, would cost at least $457–$406 for the airplane seat, $48 for airport parking and $3 for the long subway rides into Manhattan.
If he were to fly First Class and order his tickets a few days in advance, like he does on Amtrak, it would cost him another $339. That’s not counting the value of all the work he can finish during a three-hour train trip, he noted.
“The way I see it, I’m a cheap, happy date,” Hunt quipped.
With added security delays, Hunt believes it would take him as long to commute by plane as it would by train. The security measures, the drive to the airport and time spent parking bumps air travel to at least four hours, he said.
“My clients aren’t paying me to sit in traffic or stand in a security line.”
Despite his satisfaction, Hunt’s first Amtrak commute was disappointing.
He traveled Coach–which costs $116 less than First Class–and couldn’t find a place to sit or stow his two suitcases. As a result, he had to stand for part of the trip and arrived in New York tired.
That’s not a good idea for a man in Hunt’s position. A large insurance company hired him to oversee the renovation of the 53-story American Express Building, one of eight Ground Zero skyscrapers damaged by the Twin Tower collapse.
His commuting life has been rosy since he upgraded to First Class. On a few rare occasions, he has forgotten to call ahead for a ticket and gotten bumped to Coach, but he has always gotten a seat.
Despite Amtrak’s poor on-time performance record, all but four of Hunt’s trains have arrived at his final destination on time, and none of them puts him more than 30 minutes behind schedule. As a result, Hunt is almost never late to work.
On this day, the train is punctual, arriving at Penn Station at 9:40 a.m. He hops out of his seat, bids farewell to the stewards and hops aboard a No. 2 subway train to Chambers Street, a mere 8-minute walk from Ground Zero.
Hunt expects his work at the American Express Building to be done next month. He doesn’t know exactly where he’ll be sent next, but since 90 percent of his work is in greater New England, it’s a good bet he’ll be getting there by train.
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Robert Hunt
46, Construction manager
Years on the road: 25
Annual trips pre-9/11: 100 (No change since 9/11)
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Hunt on train travel
BEST
First-class service; cheaper, faster than airline travel for short-distance hops; able to work during travel time; feels safer than flying.
WORST
Getting bumped into coach on a crowded train when he can’t find a seat or a place to stow his backpack; no frequent-flier miles to be racked up for family vacations.
