Air travel is just a hassle. Thankfully rail isn't as annoying as air (yet)
I'd gladly take the 1 hour longer journey since, as you mentioned, it would be just about the same at the airport.
Key word there is certainly "yet". Within the next 10 years, I anticipate train security to become a hassle. Maybe not as much as air travel, but I think it will become tighter than it is now. The only security measure right now are dogs walking around. All I do is go to the ticket kiosk, print my ticket and go to the gate. No security lines, no nothing. A lot of times I never come close to the dogs. It would be easy to slip bombs, etc onto the trains.
The Auto Train looks interesting. I definitely would like to try it out next time I go on a roadtrip. According to Google maps, it would faster to drive between both stations, but considering I would need rest and would probably end up staying at a hotel for at least a night on the way ... the Auto Train seems much more convenient.
Yeah it takes 17 hours officially where if I drove it would take 12 hours, but often times it leaves at 3:30 PM if the train isn't full and arrives at 8:00-8:30 am( 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes early). Out of my 12 trips on the train, only once did it not arrive early( it was an hour late). The food on the train is also pretty decent.
It is a lot more convenient. Don't have to deal with traffic, idiotic drivers, etc. It's far more relaxing to sit in my roomette, tether my iPhone, etc then to drive the 12 hours.
As I stated above, it also saves 1000 miles of wear and tear on my car. I would have 12,000 more miles on my car if I drove instead of taking the train......
