Those of us of a certain age in Erie, Pa. have fond memories of the train. From my youth, I can recall many trips to Union Station and to the east-side station on 19th Street to greet relatives arriving on the train, or to bid family and friends farewell.

I'm quite fond of train travel and, years ago, would often board various trains when I lived and worked in the northeastern part of the country. But when I returned to Erie, I discovered we have only one inbound and one outbound train -- and both come here in the wee hours of the morning.

That's about to change, as Times-News reporter Jim Carroll reports in his story on today's City & Region page. The Lake Shore Limited, which heads east to New York City, will now arrive in Erie at 8:29 a.m.

The joke is that Amtrak service has been so spotty that, more often than not, the eastbound trains arrives here at 8:29 or even later on a regular basis.

A year ago, while on a family vacation in Boston, we waited in the train station for my wife, who had to remain behind in Erie for a couple of days. As we sat in the Boston depot, which is considerably nicer than the one in Erie, the arrival news posted on the big electronic sign overhead kept getting more depressing by the hour.

First, the train was listed as "1 hour late." Then it was "2 hours late." Finally, a message that said "unknown" popped up. A man seated behind us -- he and his family were regular users of the train -- looked up and said, "Uh-oh."

"What? What does it mean?" I asked.

"It means they have no idea when the train will arrive," he replied.

Sadly, he was correct. We sat there for four more hours before my wife's train finally pulled into the station.

I still love trains -- they're a great way to travel, and I always enjoy meeting and talking to interesting people on the train. I just wish they ran on time, which they never seem to do.

At least in Erie, we won't have to get up in the middle of the night any longer to catch the train heading east.

-- Kevin Cuneo

** Send me a comment about this blog, so we can have a dialogue **