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As a counter to this low-effort, flip comment, I semi-regularly take the Amtrak Capitol Corridor from San Jose to Sacramento. It is about 3 hours. It takes about 2 hours to drive with no traffic, but if you need to travel on a weekday during the morning or early evening, the train is much faster. And you can read/work/sleep/whatever.

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I once took Amtrak from Portland to Seattle and it took me over an hour to make it across the Columbia River. Apparently it had something to do with a delay and freight trains having priority.

Even with bad traffic it takes longer for me to take the Metrolink to LA than if I drive. Up until recent gas price increases it was more expensive too. I haven't experienced rail service on the east coast, but at least in my experience on the west coast it is horribly broken. I say this as someone who believes in it and wants it to be successful. I have given it so many chances and it has failed me every time.

As someone from the east coast who's done both Seattle to Portland and Boston to New Haven, the difference is nuts. From what I understand, Amtrak owns the tracks on the NY-BOS stretch, but everywhere else has to yield to slow moving freight trains (we were stuck for 45 minutes). By comparison, the trip to New Haven was completely smooth sailing. The idea that passengers should yield to freight seems absolutely backwards to me.

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