[rainsford]

Not the OP, but I love trains and the idea of Amtrak, while the reality actually makes me pretty sad. It says something pretty bad about the US when we seem to actively choose to make our train service embarrassingly terrible even in places where trains make a ton of sense and absolutely could work (e.g. the US northeast).

Don't get me wrong, I'm also a private pilot and a car guy...I love our train alternatives too and flying and driving are things the US does a better job of. But leaving out trains as a realistic transportation option feels like a weird blind spot.