I like trains. I like long-distance trains. I rarely use them, because they seldom go where I need to (or want to) go when I want to go in a reasonable amount of time for (especially when multiple family members are making the trip) a reasonable price. Long-distance trains are a luxury recreational item for me, and probably for most (though certainly not all) people that use them. Certainly, those in the sleepers are using the train for luxury travel; those who are just going to some town along the line, stopping at 0300 local time, are in the coach.

I do use short-medium distance trains, because they often do go where I need or want to go, when I want to go, in a driving-competitive (all things considered, including parking and other hassles) time, and for a driving-competitive out-of-pocket cost. Most of those short-medium distance trips are single-person. Add a rider and the drive becomes much more competitive; add a car full of kids and driving (even if it requires renting a car) becomes the only reasonable choice.

As for the rural-transportation point, all of those "urban support" items are delivered by truck or other non-rail modes. Rail may be used for some part of the trip, but it's wholesale transportation that doesn't directly serve end users (retail sales); a truck (or wires for electricity) is always part of the trip if not all of it. Rural *passenger* transportation, sorry, is driving personal cars; even Greyhound doesn't serve small towns any more. Small-town passenger service is always poor in terms of scheduling and quality, because it always costs more than anybody can afford to pay in fares and has to be subsidized (either directly as with public transit, or via cross-subsidies from profitable services). That goes for buses as well as trains. Bottom line: if you can't drive or catch a ride with a friend or family member, you need to move to a town where other options are available.

As an example, I keep thinking of the VIA Canadian train. Schedule-keeping stinks, but the train runs mainly as a cruise for recreational travel; you're going for the trip, not just to get there. If you must get from Vancouver or Winnipeg to Toronto on a schedule, you fly; the airfare is usually much cheaper, too. Given premium pricing and long-lead reservations for rail outside the corridor zone of SE Canada and the trains to places no road reaches (Churchill?), if you have a family with you, you might drive. It does drag a coach or 2, and stops at those towns in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, because it has to - VIA's legally responsible for that type of travel. Sounds a lot like Amtrak's long-distance in concept, but I'm not sure Amtrak has an enforceable mandate to do it (any legal references?). Not that Amtrak long-distance is cheap; if you want the sleeper, you.will.pay hotel prices, but if looked at with a green eyeshade the package isn't bad (transportation, meals, and room adds up to about what it would cost to drive and stay the night at a business-class roadside place). VIA's a little pricier, but provides a nicer experience.