Have you checked Amtrak fares lately? Coach fares are not much better than air on some routes. My inlaws from New York decided not to come visit us this summer after they saw what the cheapest bedroom rates would cost them to get out to Spokane. More than driving their big behemoth of a motor home. Yeah, I realize hopping freights won't get you across country in six hours (getting hard enough to make that time by air anymore), but these days a lot of people have more time on their hands than money. No direct symbols Spokane-Phoenix, but the savvy railfan would know the connections.