Amtrak is much less polluting than airplanes. Amtrak feeds connecting passengers to transit. Positive impacts have been observed even in small cities with minimal Amtrak service. This leads to the social costs of getting transit-dependent people to work, or the need to address the consequences of their not working. Amtrak serves many communities where alternative transportation either does not exist, is not affordable or only serves different destinations.
Trains can make intermediate stops at smaller cities at minimum cost in energy and time.
Also, Amtrak serves 14 North Carolina points. They did not consider the plane because they felt it would be too cramped for the child. Amtrak is important to those who cannot fly due to temporary or permanent medical problems, and to those for whom physical and financial considerations rule out driving long distances, for example, seniors and students. Nonetheless, a large proportion of Amtrak riders do own cars or could fly but instead chose the train. Thanks to a growing array of connecting buses available with train travel in a single ticket transaction, Amtrak puts people on intercity buses who would not otherwise have considered using them.