stevenshev

I too find the placement within T&D objectionable, while supporting the addition of this forum overall.

Perhaps an "other common carriers" section within M&P would be appropriate and could theoretically be extended to include trains, cruises, whatever in the future.

chrissxb

I do support this motion. well done guys ^

jackal

I support the motion, but like stevenshev, lin821, and fairviewroad have mentioned, separating it from the other rail-based forum already in existence (and not allowing for future expansion of other regions) makes virtually no sense.

I don't like putting it directly under T&D--the top level of T&D is already pretty cluttered (13 sub-forums at the top level of T&D already exist), and another forum would just get lost in the mix. It's like saving lots of files to your desktop and ending up not being able to see your wallpaper because there's just too much there. Logical organization makes more sense.

But if you don't think M&P is the right place to put it, why not move the Amtrak forum to T&D, too? Most of the questions in the AGR forum are really about Amtrak travel (as opposed to the AGR program itself). Then we could have a nice, even 15 forums in the top level of T&D! Everyone would be able to find everything!

If people are of the opinion that there is no need for future expansion of a rail forum because domestic rail trips should simply be handled within their respective country forums, then I propose a motion to dissove the WN and B6 forums and just discuss their domestic-only travel in the T&D United States forum. It makes logical sense, no?

BahrainLad

Another vote of support for me here.

bhatnasx

Just to toss out some points here...

I think placing it under the Europe forum in T&D will allow for those that use the Europe forum to see the new rail forum better. I think it would receive more attention there.

Also, the other rail forum is the Amtrak forum - which has a loyalty program & is based off of Amtrak Guest Rewards.

The purpose of the new forum is to discuss general European rail travel. At this time, there hasn't really been sufficient demand or discussion of South American, Asian, African, or Australian rail to warrant their own forums (and North American rail travel is usually discussed in the Amtrak forum or the Air Canada & Canada forums). If that changes in the future, then things can always be restructured. But for now, I think this is a good solution to the requests at hand.

stimpy

I support the new forum, but it should be colored yellow. No wait...Green! C'mon, just create it already and let it breath its own life.

kokonutz

After thinking about Dovster's concerns about organizational structure, this is my feeling on the situation as well.

European rail is pretty unique in its ubiquitousness, heavy usage, international nature and resulting complexities for both programs but even just general use.

Amtrak is about one program: Guest Rewards and so makes sense under programs.

If other regions' rail needs arise in the future they can be addressed at that time.

N830MH

I'm with you, too. I think I am completely agree with you. I think it will be great to see to creation new EU rail forums. So however, I think I will have to approval from Spiff.

ajax

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought that this new forum would go under the "Destination >> The World" sub-heading within the "Travel & Dining" group.

Thus it wouldn't be alongside the 13 "main" forums, such as "Travel Buzz" and "Newsstand", but rather alongside the region- or country-specific forums, such as "Europe", "France" and "Germany".

Shuttle-Bored

Definitely a good idea ^

Prospero

I agree. Working within our existing structure, a new European Rail forum would dovetail nicely into the top grouping on Travel & Dining, alongside Budget Travel, Cruises, Luxury Hotels et al.

BiziBB

I would support the forum in general and would logically expect it to belong near the 'Europe' T&D forum, due to it being around the continent and it being about travel in that area rather than about the FFP (being an area-specific travel-issues (sub)forum rather than a miles/points program).

I do not wish for more forums the general 'TravelBuzz', 'DiningBuzz' area if it is specific just to European train travel!

So my support has the qualifications above.

stimpy

You may not have noticed in all the posts above, but it IS about frequent travel programs. It's not just how to get from point A to point B. In fact, this "forum" would cover several frequent travel programs. You could have a separate forum for each program, but I gather that would make too much work for somebody.

gleff

Before I cast my ballot on the issue, I'd appreciate input on a question. Lots of folks saying 'I support' but here's what I haven't worked through -- why does it make sense to combine rail across Europe rather than leaving trains within the relevant country forums? Sure, there's Europe-wide rail but also national rail services. Why, for instance, are Italian train topics better in a Europe rail forum than in Italy?

Roger

gleff: I think the simple answer is because many European trains are the same, often combining single-country sectors within an international routeing.

Take Frankfurt-Milan, for example. This would combine intra-German, intra-Swiss and intra-Italian sectors as well as the end-to-end route. I used to take parts of the Paris-Istanbul train, which ran sectors inside France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the former Yugoslavia and Greece IIRC. (I never managed the whole route, sadly.)