When I was a boy. I, occasionally, was able to take the train from my home in Minneapolis to Duluth where most of my relatives live. My uncle Norman worked on the train and so, I surmise, that I got special attention and a reduced ticket price if not a free one. As a young man working as a systems analyst for NCR Corp, I had clients in Duluth and La Crosse WI. I could take the train there and back for a week at a time. I have never enjoyed driving, so trains were a convenient and joyful choice.
Today, because my wife has ear problems, and cabin pressure makes air travel difficult for her, we are beginning to choose train travel instead.
Amtrak is comfortable, convenient, enjoyable and WAY too expensive than it should be, at least compared to European train travel.
Air travel is uncomfortable, difficult to navigate at terminals and offers none of the incredible views, food and drinks, that trains do (unless you like clouds, vending machine food and drinks in a flimsy plastic glass).

La Crosse WI Apr 2021