"Gabby Johnson is right!"
Unfortunately, the people who run Amtrak generally have it wrong. I looked into taking my family on the Acela from our home in the Boston Burbs to New York City. The tickets are the same price as a full-fare airplane ride. This may not be much to high rollers like Joe Biden (and former Amtrak head Mike Dukakis) but for us working stiffs who have to pay for the tickets ourselves with after-tax dollars, well, the economics say "Just drive the car."
Similarly, I was looking at the "Downeaster" service from Boston to Portland, Maine, to connect with a proposed ski bus up to the Sunday River area. Unfortunately, the earliest train on Saturday morning wouldn't get me to the mountain much before noon, and I'd have to leave shortly after lunch on Sunday to get the last train back that evening. A few years back, there actually was a ski train which ran from Portland to Sunday River, but, with connecting service like this, it's no wonder that it wasn't popular enough to keep running.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Finally, some support in high places for rail travel in America:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-biden/why-america-needs-trains_b_412393.html