A couple of points:

First, Amtrak will never make a profit. Nor should it. No national passenger rail system anywhere in the world does. Amtrak receives financial support from both federal and state governments, but the fact is that ALL forms of public transportation are subsidized by government, from the airlines to highways to sidewalks.

Second, yes, Amtrak trains can run late, but Amtrak runs over track owned by the freight railroads everywhere in the country except the stretch between Washington and Boston on the East Coast. Ninety-five percent of the time delays are caused because dispatchers for the freight railroads make Amtrak wait while giving priority to their freight trains. This is changing because the federal government is cracking down. As a result, on-time performance has improved. For example, Adit commented that the Capital Limited “runs about 2 hours late on average.” Not so. I checked and that train, which runs daily has averaged 29 minutes late into Chicago for the past month, which includes several days when long delays were caused by very bad weather.

By all means, do take the train when you travel. For my money, all factors considered, it’s the best way to go.