This is But Why a podcast for Curious Kids.

I'm the host of the show, Jane Lindholm.

My job is to help answer some of the really terrific questions you send us from around the world.

Most of the time, Melody Bodette and I do our research and reporting from our home state of Vermont

in the northeastern part of the United States. But whenever one of us travels somewhere else,

we like to take you with us. I had to go to Washington, D.C. for work, and so I brought my

microphone and recording equipment with me, because Melody had found the perfect person to help

answer some questions you've been sending us about trains.

Maybe you take underground trains known as subways or metros or the L depending on what city you live in all the time.

Or perhaps you've slept on a train on an overnight trip to somewhere far away.

Or maybe, like I did when I was a kid, you have a spot where you like to watch the trains

full of all kinds of cargo rumble by, and you count the cars one by one until you lose track.

There are lots of kinds of trains all around the world, but as I said, today we are taking your questions to the headquarters of the U.S.'s main long-distance passenger rail service called Antrack.

My name is Patrick Kidd, and I'm a communications lead at Antrack and also the in-house historian.

In-house historian. So you know everything about trains?

Well, I'm trying to learn everything. I think it will take a whole lifetime to do that.

Can you describe where we are right now?

We're actually sitting on an Acela Express, which is Amtrak's premium service.

This is our fastest train that operates between Washington and Boston through New York.

And at its top speed, it goes 150 miles per hour.

So how long would it take to go from Washington to New York? From Washington to New York, I believe it's about three hours. And if I were

driving, how long would it take me in the car? Well, you never know. It depends what traffic is like,

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