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Clearly airplanes and trains offer a different kind of service.  And they appeal to a different market. There is another key difference. Commercial air travel is supported for the most part by the paying passengers, i.e. the market.  Long distance trains, irrespective of whether they are seen as essential intercity transport or land cruises, are not supported by the market.  They require a massive subsidy. Whether Amtrak is a bargain depends on how many people are traveling, how much they spend in the dinning and lounge cars, whether they book coach or sleeper accommodations, etc.  Moreover, when the subsidy is factored into the equation, Amtrak's long distance trains are not a bargain for the body politic.  They are a wasteful drain on the public purse. I recently priced a roomette from Austin to Chicago.  Amtrak wanted $339 for it.  I can get a pretty swanky hotel room in Chicago for that kind of money.  It is a stretch to argue that traveling sleeper class on Amtrak is a bargain.  Interestingly, according to the Inspector General's report, it requires a greater subsidy than coach travel. Cruise ships don't get a massive government subsidy.  They have to cut it in the market place or go out of business.  This is the model that should be used for long distance train cruises.  If there is a market for it, it should be required to stand on its own.  The public does not have a vested interest in long distance train cruises any more than it has a public interest in ship borne cruises.
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