text: This used to be a good money saving option that I frequently used to travel to Chicago on weekends despite the fact that I do not recall ever being less than an hour behind schedule Hey gas is not cheap and Amtrak was However the weekend fares have gone up from each way to unless you buy your tickets several weeks in advance So even though I have a gas guzzling SUV it is only about more expensive for me to drive and a heck of a lot more convenient and reliable Those with more responsible vehicles will save time money and headaches by drivingnnI have also on one horrible occasion had to take Amtrak to the east coast due to flight cancellations It was a truly awful experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy A hour train ride is bad but when it ends up taking more than hours and involves a hour white knuckle bus ride through a blizzard in the mountains in the middle of the trip yeah not cool