It really almost is. Especially on the California Zephyr[0]. We didn't put train tracks down at random. We built them early and used techniques that saw them follow terrain features that were convenient to follow. I ride quite a bit and the mountain tunnels are the only part I can think of that don't fit my description.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zccf1KpdTOs

>I took a train from nyc to chicago recently and felt like I was passing through the higher numbered districts of the hunger games.

Oh man, oh man, the irony.

Formerly industrial areas of the US are poor and dilapidated because the people of places specifically including but not strictly limited to NYC and Chicago (with the help of some voters elsewhere) made big bucks sending all that productivity to poorer nations. The wealth is not there specifically because decisions were made to benefit wall street at those people's expense.

Hunger games was a more apt metaphor for the comparison than I think you thought it was.

They do obey the law: they're required to pull onto a siding to allow Amtrak to stay on time. So the operators ensure the train is too long for any of the sidings, which fits them into an escape clause. Any cargo train stuck waiting for Amtrak simply isn't fully stacked yet.

Closing that loophole is what the government is dragging its feet about.

it's possible that freight trains are waiting for an Amtrak that was itself, earlier delayed by freight trains and became late. And given that equipment on a route will become the return journey this could cascade out of control.

Amtraks are never in charge of dispatching on routes they don't own, and there's a very clear correlation between on time performance and percentage of the route they do own.

I would rather fly commercial than be driven in any private vehicle long distance. I would, however, embrace the luxury of a slower trip by private railcar. Beyond the novelty, I could presumably stretch out and sleep and maybe enjoy a great meal.

It depends. I take the Amtrack from Albany to Chicago once a year or so because I hate flying. It's maybe an hour or two slower than driving and that's with a lot of time built in to the schedule for delays. The last time I took it We left Albany 45 minutes late and still made it on time to Chicago. Yes, delays happen, just like in traffic or at the air port, but I find the focus on delays when Amtrak comes up extremely over-stated. Perhaps it's just the routes I'm on.

If you have all the money in the world, why would you need to go fast? Just enjoy the ride in comfort and style.

It depends on the route and the distance.

For example, Portland to Seattle isn't that far but I-5 can easily back up and become an hours-long ordeal, and SEA and PDX aren't particularly close to a lot of places.

Theoretically rail trails can become rail lines once again but I am only really aware of one example where this kind of happened (the DC Purple Line)

The old Goodyear blimps were ridiculously loud. You needed to wear ear protection 100% of the time. The new ones are whisper quiet.

FYI, whenever they go someplace they almost always have time in the schedule dedicated to giving free rides. You just gotta be in the right place at the right time ;)

Especially ones that go boom!

I wonder if there’s a market for “flatbed car with an RV strapped on top” like some type of auto train.

(actually I think it is something a billionaire does in a NS book)

I took Amtrak from Boston South Station to Montpelier. You have to go south to Connecticut before you can get the Vermonter. The Vermonter was canceled due to contention with a disabled Metro North (or something...) and my connecting train turned into a bus.

When I've gone to NYC, it's honestly been less hassle to just take the bus.

A trick that won’t always work - get the sleeper for four and have the fifth visit. You just gotta be nice to the conductor and the sleeper attendant.

But the other option is to just all get lower level coach seats next to each other - sometimes five or six is about all they have down there. Make a new friend!

I've taken a "luxury" bus from the Boston area to NY once. I'll stick to Amtrak although, given where I live, it's not very efficient. Boston area to DC really takes too long though I've done it.

I hate driving into NYC though I've done it with someone else (or because I was headed somewhere else afterwards). As you say, with multiple people, the numbers don't really pencil out--especially given it takes longer for me.

This is only true in the region served by Acela that is south of NYC. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is taking Amtrak from BOS to DC unless there's a really good extenuating circumstance.