This used to be a good money saving option that I frequently used to travel to Chicago on weekends despite the fact that I don't recall ever being less than an hour behind schedule.  Hey, gas isn't cheap and Amtrak was.  However, the weekend fares have gone up from $13 each way to $35 (!) unless you buy your tickets several weeks in advance.  So even though I have a gas guzzling SUV, it's only about $15 more expensive for me to drive and a heck of a lot more convenient and reliable.  Those with more responsible vehicles will save time, money, and headaches by driving.\n\nI have also, on one horrible occasion, had to take Amtrak to the east coast due to flight cancellations. It was a truly awful experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy.  A 20 hour train ride is bad, but when it ends up taking more than 30 hours and involves a 4 hour white knuckle bus ride through a blizzard in the mountains in the middle of the trip... yeah... not cool.