Trains through American mountains are often slow.

[rwk]

I'm surprised Amtrak lasted this long. It was started in May 1971 by the federal government because the private railroads were losing money on intercity trains. Some railroads like Southern continued some trains like the Crescent to 1979 then turned it over to Amtrak. The problem Amtrak has is the sheer size of the US and cross country trips are very long. Often class I freight railroads will prioritize their own traffic over Amtrak's thus making the Amtrak train late. And Amtrak fares are expensive. More people fly for long distances because it's faster and people's time is valuable especially when they are working age. Old retired people don't have to worry about that as much. But, Amtrak is a nice way to see the country especially in one of those observation cars with big windows that extend to the ceiling. I've seen complaints online where people had a bad experience on Amtrak like late train, rude employees, dirty seat or compartment, subpar meals, etc. and they said that they will never take Amtrak again.

 

[Forester1]

I haven't taken Amtrak yet, but my brother and his wife took the Empire Builder from Eastern Washington state to Chicago and back, and they had a great time, no complaints.