Trains are great. Amtrak not so much.

Amtrak sucks. I say this as a seasoned annual traveler who only takes Amtrak because of a totally illogical fear (I am told) of flying. Which means, of course, that it takes me ages to get anywhere and costs me twice as much as any airline. I can also expect to never to arrive on time. I am writing this from one of their many remote Amtrak outposts (not deserving of the term stations) located far from any civilization or actual destination. This one is called Staples Mills and it's somewhere outside of Richmond, Virginia, a site that necessitates a $40.00 cab fare in addition to the outrageous price one already paid for the rail ticket. It’s a depressing venue off of a busy highway, the only neighbor being McDonalds. In its dismal setting where lots of dreary and weary passengers are waiting for trains that are almost always late. Mine is already an hour behind. Once it arrives I can relax in my coffin-like compartment for the seemingly endless 24-hour journey back to Miami. One hopes to get the rare attendant, black or white, who doesn't have some kind of attitude problem. Once I arrive at the remote Miami outpost, generally an hour or two late, I could take the free Metrorail to my stop downtown, that is if I didn't mind taking a chance on being murdered on the two blocks from the deserted outpost to the station. I wrote to Amtrak recently complaining about its many flaws and got an insipid "bedbug" letter from a public relations  person.