I get very annoyed at people who dump on Amtrak. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's not like driving or flying is perfect either. I wouldn't do Amtrak across the country or something, but for regional trips, it's nice to be able to just show up 10 minutes in advance, sit down, and show up in the middle of town on the other side.
@JessTheUnstill Fund Amtrak like we fund the Interstate Highway System; & we'd have a bunch of fast, on-time, rolling palaces.
@Gorfram @JessTheUnstill And make airlines pay for airport/tower service.
I have done many 44 hour trips on Amtrak, a few of which turned into 60 hour trips, but, I personally had no regrets. My feel has been that they need multiple trains on those long hauls: some cities get 3am service: if there were several trains, they could alternate the smaller stops, improving net speed with fewer stops, and provide service at a reasonable hour.
