I got a roomette from Detroit to New Orleans recently and it was delightful. The cafe car was an atrium and I slept like a baby. It obviously cost more than a seat and took a long time but it was a pleasant experience. If I’d flown, I’d have probably just sat in a chair at home.
If that's a night train, fuck the flight. I'd rather sleep on the train and wake up in a new city for 40$ than drive to the airport for an hour, wait on the plain for 1-2 hours, wait 30 minutes for take off, and then get an uber or something to the city center for another 20$. With a train you show up, sit down, and arrive in the center of the city where I want to be.
i can see it being ok for overnight, actually. like, i'm not against the idea, it's just that it services a narrower range of travel needs due to its long duration.
i'm from NYC, so i'm perfectly happy with train travel, but 7 hours is a long-ass trip.
It may serve a narrower range of travel needs, but it's worth noting that the reason that Amtrak added the Borealis train on the Twin Cities-to-Chicago route is the existing high customer demand for that segment on the Empire Builder train.
I've slept on an Amtrak train before. It wasn't great, you're in a seat the whole way and a lot depends on who you're seated next to, unless you spring for a bed, which substantially increases the cost.
I "slept" on auto train between fla and va. It was not good. The tracks are not straight and the train swings side to side a lot. Couldn't sleep too well at all. It took a long time to wait for all the procedural stuff like unloading the cars. Basically ate up two days instead of driving for one day.
That's a 1-hour flight, plus an hour to get to ORD, plus getting there the recommended 2 hours before the flight time to clear security and board, plus baggage claim at MSP. Flying is still faster, but the train is far more chill. High-speed rail would completely beat a plane.
But also, the train makes intermediate stops. I've seen a number of Chicago people on social media excited about taking the Borealis to Wisconsin Dells, and that travel time is pretty comparable.
