Hard to say when I've never used Amtrak (though I understand it has a bad reputation), but what we have is a dense network with frequent rail services. Many people rely on it to commute into London for work and of course they NEED it to be on time. Given the size of the country, it's the most practical form of long-distance public transport. Most places are too close together for flying to be sensible, but trains are just right for the kind of distances we have. So we rely on them and expect the service to be good. It can easily be a political issue if it isn't. If you're British, need or want to go somewhere a long way off and don't want to or can't drive, your first thought will be "train".
Say you want to go from London to Edinburgh. The train takes about 4 hours 30 minutes, while a flight is timetabled for an hour. No contest, you might think. BUT add in the time to get to Heathrow or another London airport, minimum check-in time, all the other fiddling about you have to do at airports, and getting into Edinburgh from Edinburgh Airport at the other end, and the train starts to look better. No messing about - get on at London Kings Cross, get off at Edinburgh Waverley, and you're from city centre to city centre all in one go. The ticket price is comparable, or definitely better if you buy in advance, the legroom is far better on a train, you can wander down to the buffet car for something to eat or drink whenever you feel like, there are no luggage size restrictions, and you get to see the country on the way out of the windows instead of just clouds. The approach to Waverley is worth seeing.
Talking of seeing the country on the way, possibly one of the most spectacular views in England is from the train as it passes through Dawlish in Devon. This line is the main line to Plymouth and Cornwall, and at Dawlish it runs along the edge of the sea. This causes problems - storms and floods a year ago washed away the land under the line - but it's been rebuilt and once again you can get the memorable view of sea on one side and steep red cliffs on the other. There is no other way to see this except at Dawlish station. If you're an American wanting to visit Plymouth to see where the Mayflower sailed from, this is the way to get there!
For anyone wanting to tour the UK, train is THE way to do it. Trains are frequent and reliable and will get you most places you want to be. If you live outside the UK and want to do this, get a BritRail Pass (anyone who lives here can't buy this) and the entire network is yours to use.
Yes far better. Our rail network is very dense and frequent covering virtually the whole country. Services between major cities run every 20 to 30 minutes and even on secondary lines rarely less frequently than hourly. Of course this is a relatively small congested country, ideal for rail travel.
www.nationalrail.co.uk
www.seat61.com
www.britrail.com
Yes. I had some relatives visit this year who had frequently used Amtrak. They were amazed at the quality of our trains.
MUCH!!
