Don't Like
* In my experience ~80% of the time the trip is on time as measured by "within two hours of schedule". The other ~20-25% of the time it has been off by more hours. So you need to anticipate this and go with the flow. I've had better experience with short hauls (e.g. Cascades) and worse experience with longer hauls (e.g. Empire Builder). Last year my train from Minot to Chicago was 7 hours late. I didn't miss my connection because original plan was to arrive ~3pm in Chicago, stay in a hotel and take the connecting train the next morning. So I arrived @ 10pm and it still all worked out. However, particularly if you are planning a multi-hop you might need to anticipate some contingency time for this type of stuff. // In general I have a slightly different time mindset when traveling by train than by airplane.
You’ve gotta try Japan. They’re mortified if the train in 2 minutes late and offer humble apologies! On the other hand, bike accommodation on the trains is very limited.