There’s something decidedly romantic about trains. They’re generally pretty comfy, and you can walk to a dining car or the one designed for scenic vistas. There’s also, at least according to our suggested Netflix titles, a chance there might be a murder mystery afoot.
Americans — despite living in a nation that has long prioritized driving while others invested in rail — are increasingly choosing travel via train.
Amtrak logged 34.5m customer trips and $2.7B in adjusted ticket revenue in FY 2025, a 10% increase from FY 2024, per Business Insider.
Why?
Trains not only rule for the aforementioned reasons, but they’ve also been getting better.
Amtrak, which is largely owned by the US government, has made a number of improvements in recent years to both its trains and stations, helping to curb delays — especially on its shorter routes, which are the ones passengers use most often.
At the same time, other forms of transit kinda suck.
Amtrak travelers can read a book, catch up on work, or do a crossword puzzle, whereas drivers are stuck paying constant attention and gritting their teeth through gridlock.
Then there’s flying. Thanks to factors including labor shortages and the rising cost of jet fuel, airline fares jumped 25% last year, the highest spike since tracking began in 1989.
And that extra cash is often funding a demonstrably worse experience:
Seats have gotten smaller, both slimmer and closer together, with less padding.
Perks are disappearing. Southwest Airlines ditched its famous “bags fry free” policy, while other airlines no longer offer free upgrades for loyalty program members.
Aging technology and a lack of air traffic controllers have led to widespread disturbances, many of which made national news and likely diminished confidence in air travel.
Not to mention, TSA has long been a hassle, with far more baggage restrictions than Amtrak, and a more laborious security screening process. Amtrak passengers can generally show up ~20 minutes before their train leaves, grab a coffee, and hop on.
There are also…
… attempts by startups to revive the halcyon days of rail.
Dreamstar wants to offer an overnight sleeper train between the Bay Area and Los Angeles using Union Pacific’s existing track.
Lunatrain is also preparing to launch sleeper trains across North America. In September 2025, it debuted Halloway, a platform to connect passengers to private (and luxurious) railcars, often attached to Amtrak routes.
Fun fact: If you still want to partake in that murdery-mystery, there are several games aboard operational trains. Here’s one in Kentucky.