[loonster]

Grand Rapids to Orlando:

Driving: 18 hours, 1269 miles x $0.56/mile = $710 each way (IRS millage rates as proxy)

Train: 55 hour travel, $209 each way (no refund)

Flying: 2.5 hour flight, $68 each way on a budget flight. Double both time and price for non-budget.

I would love to take a train, its just not practical.

[PaulDavisThe1st]

This seems like a demonstration of routing issues, more than anything else. I have no idea how many changes that journey would involve, but there's no way that 55 hours to cover 1269 miles is representative of the time a train (even a clunky Amtrak train) would take to cover that distance. So this would seem to be an argument for increasing routes/services, rather than an argument that the train can't ever work.

OTOH, the flight is hard to compete with in that instance, so I suspect even with a better route, you'd likely still fly between those two places. Others might not, and the new service/route would benefit people making shorter journeys along the way.