1. Timeliness is a Huge Issue
Amtrak has significant issues with not owning its track and with not getting priority over freight because of that (which it's supposed to). These are structural problems that operations can't be expected to magically solve.
That said, I boarded my train in Galesburg, IL half an hour late, despite being only the third station stop out of the origin in Chicago. For a train with dozens of later stops, that's a really bad start.
And don't get me started on the poor folks who were waiting for the Southwest Chief, which at the time we departed were still waiting on a train already 6 hours late and projected to be 8.
Again, Amtrak has serious structural problems that the actual train operators are not responsible for--but that is unacceptable. Our train was scheduled for late afternoon; the Southwest Chief was scheduled for the morning. But imagine doing the same wait for a train scheduled for 2am (the scheduled time in Lincoln, NE); do you show up mid-night and then wait until the actual morning? How exhausted would you be? How likely to take the train again?
Making it worse is that different sources available from Amtrak give different projections: is it 20 minutes late or 30? 6 hours or 7? It's not even consistent across Amtrak's website, app, and display boards in the stations.
2. Frequency is Non-existent
If you miss your train, I'd say good luck on getting another except even that would be impossible: there's no such thing as good luck with Amtrak trains because they come once a day, twice if you're lucky. Yes, that's not true in the Acela corridor, but for the rest of the country missing a train means literally not traveling.
This happens once a day. Don't be late!
This also means that there are trips for which the train will literally never be convenient despite being technically served. The train comes to Lincoln, NE at midnight in one direction and 2-3 am in the other: there are no other times, and no other options on that route. The same is true the next/previous day on the same train (depending on direction) for Salt Lake City. So it will not be convenient for any person on a normal sleep schedule to ever get a train from either of those cities, despite being "served."
Again, there are systemic reasons for this, but it breaks the effectiveness of the system more or less entirely.
3. Great Views, Mediocre Other Experiences
If you want a beautiful and amazing tour of the sights of America, Amtrak is unrivaled.
It's gorgeous! You can't relax and look at these while driving. It's truly unique as a way to explore the country and its physical wonders.
But there's not much else to do on the train (and these are long train rides, up to two days). The Wi-Fi that is advertised only works sometimes, usually not. The staff of the dining and café cars are great, but the stocking of both cars is hit and miss (and frequently therefore out of the better food options fairly early in the trip). The seats are comfortable as designed, but in need of repair or maintenance frequently (they may not fully recline, for example). The track, which again is not actually Amtrak's and so they can't totally be blamed for it, is bumpy and not up to par with intercity rail in other countries.
Basically, the Amtrak experience is one I recommend having had, but can't recommend using for actual transportation unless you live on a rare frequent corridor (Acela, the Milwaukee-Chicago line, Portland-Seattle-Vancouver, etc.). Which is a shame: train travel is ecologically better, and being delivered to a downtown instead of the airports on the outskirts of cities is a big plus.
But it's not functional, not really. And I wish it were not so.
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