Take Travel to the Rails

Years ago, a nervous David Catania sat aboard the Metro North Railroad in anticipation of a first job interview when a fellow passenger advised, "Remember, you're as smart as they are."

Now a senior research specialist in New York City, Catania has given that advice to countless other passengers since, many of whom have become his close friends and mentors.

Every weekday on an early train running from New Haven, Conn. from New York City, Catania meets up with a tight-knit group of rail enthusiasts who call themselves the 6:58 Trainiacs. It's comprised of "a certain kind of person ... all professionals and captains of industry going into the city," says Catania.

And on the way home each night (the 6:58 p.m. New Haven-bound train has now been rescheduled for 7:05 p.m.) Catania heads to the bar car, where the Trainiacs exchange stories, business advice and jokes over coffee or a cold one. Here, Catania promotes his other business, Cachaca Fazenda Mae De Ouro, by shaking up some cachaca (Brazilian rum) cocktails.

"Wherever I go, I take a backpack with me with limes, sugar and cachaca," he says. "People who like it tell their friends. It's very viral."

Bar-car networking is so effective that Catania's friend Allison Hemming devoted a chapter to it in her book Work It!

Besides offering excellent networking opportunities and lasting friendships, rail is fast becoming the transportation mode of choice for commuters and business travelers.

"The popularity of [trains] continues to grow at record levels," says Amtrak spokesperson Cliff Cole, adding that during fiscal year 2006, more than 24 million passengers rode Amtrak, making it the fourth straight year of record ridership.

For many travelers, it's clear that the convenience of a shorter trip by plane doesn't compare to a train's benefits.

"I swear I could have driven faster," Catania says of a flight he recently took to Florida, which involved waiting at security checkpoints and extensive flight delays. But had he taken a car, he would still have to worry about gas, traffic and those illusive parking spots.

By contrast, when Catania takes the train, he says there's never any hassle and he's taken right to the center of town.

"One of our enviable problems recently is that we are turning away passengers, even while charging full fares," says Cole, who attributes market pressure to highway congestion, rising gas prices and draconian airport security policies.

To view Alix Steel's video take of today's business travel segment, click here.