I was thinking about taking a train from Minneapolis to Seattle. Amtrak (for two adults) has a basic round-trip coach fare for US$600. I thought I'd check ViaRail for a comparison (Winnipeg to Vancouver) and a basic round-trip coach fare (again, for two adults) is about CD$700. So, roughly comparable (although the Amtrak trip is about 36 hours and the ViaRail trip takes about 45 hours).
I then looked into a double-occupancy bedroom. Amtrak: US$1,700 (round-trip, two adults) and ViaRail: CN$2,800 (ditto).
Next comparison: Just hoping on an airplane for a three-hour flight from Minneapolis to Seattle: US$200 per person (on Northwest Airlines).
So, I'm thinking a person (1) has to have a lot of time to kill in order to take a train and (2) takes a train to enjoy the trip (not as a means of simply getting from Point A to Point B).
If I was retired and had all the time in the world, it might make sense to spend the extra money to take a train and enjoy the trip. But, when time (and money) is limited, who takes a train?