I took the Acela from NYC to DC to visit a friend. It was expensive, but I wanted to try it.

The interior of the cars was old and beat up. The tray in front of me didn't work. The bathroom door was borked and there was this persistent hint of a foul smell.

The woman across the isle was bombed and clearly going through something, but before long she fell asleep and when she woke up was docile as a lamb.

I've read that the main advantage of inter-metropolis rail travel is that you enter and exit in the middle of town. This helped for NYC and DC -- I took a short subway ride to Penn Station on the NYC side, and then walked from Union Station to my friend's house on the DC side.

Rail is the most comfortable way to travel by far. If only it were cheaper and faster.