[ssharp]

Travel from DC through New England is about the only convenient use of Amtrak. Travel times in the midwest are an absolute joke. 12 hours from Pittsburgh to New York City vs. a 1-hour flight to Newark and <30 minute ride to Penn Station.

[marssaxman]

The Cascadia corridor is pretty decent, too. The train between Seattle to Portland is time-competitive with driving, and much more comfortable. (Amtrak also goes north to Vancouver, but it's been over 20 years since I've taken that route, so I can't attest to its current convenience.)

[gs17]

Be happy if you're even on the network. I'm in Nashville and we're not connected at all. Amtrak has proposed a plan of eventually putting it on the end of a route which would be convenient for going to Chattanooga or Atlanta and likely nowhere else.

[jcranmer]

Most of the state-supported routes (e.g., the trips between DC and other points in Virginia) are also pretty decent. But any long-distance route is pretty much a crapshoot.

[nerdponx]

I used to ride Empire service all the time. Very comfortable ride, especially after about half of the train got out at Albany and I could get some quiet time in the dining car, along with one of those disgusting hotdogs or meatball subs or cup noodles. The long delays between Albany and Buffalo were annoying, but apparently that's no longer a problem. I loved the train compared to the bus or flying or driving, great way to travel. Although nothing beats the flexibility of driving, especially if you don't have a pickup (or a reliable taxi) waiting for you at the destination. And that's a big problem in the USA -- no connecting transit in most places, once you get off the train you're basically stranded.