I took my first long-distance Amtrak trip. Here are 10 things that surprised me.

At first, I expected my train journey to offer a clear benefit over other modes of transportation, such as lower cost or faster travel times.

Instead, the train ride — which made nine stops between Tampa and Miami — took longer than it would take me to drive or, obviously, fly between the same two points. In fact, my almost-six-hour train ride was 1 ½ hours longer than an average drive starting at the same time of day.

While the train reached a top speed of about 80 miles per hour, which would be a bit faster than driving on the highway, it also faced a fair amount of train traffic, and our average speed during the trip was closer to 45 miles per hour, which is slower than the speed limits on Florida highways, which usually have a minimum speed of 50 miles per hour.

Of course, I reaped some benefits by traveling by train rather than driving the route. I didn’t have to deal with road traffic, and I had the chance to sleep, eat, and relax on the journey.

I was also surprised that the ticket cost wasn’t much cheaper than driving or flying. An ultra-economy flight between Tampa and Miami on a carrier like the now-defunct Spirit Airlines or its peer, Frontier Airlines, could’ve cost between $35 and $150 at the time of my trip, depending on when I booked.

Today, flights between the two cities can go for as low as $40, with an average of $80 to $140 round-trip, depending on booking timing.

Driving the trip would have cost an average of $34.16 at the time of my trip, as calculated using The Zebra’s fuel cost calculator and AAA’s state average fuel prices.

I paid $60 for a single coach ticket (and $230 for the first-class ticket), so both driving and flying could’ve been faster and cheaper.

Despite the extra time and cost, there were benefits to taking the train: It was a fun and enriching experience that felt like traveling back in time, with routes that went through rural areas that were once hubs of industries such as manufacturing.

The stations themselves — many of which were built when train travel was much more common — felt like glimpses into a different era.

In Tampa, for example, I boarded the train at Tampa Union Station, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1912.

Expecting a somewhat more elevated travel experience than long-distance buses, which can often be delayed by road traffic, I was surprised by the amount of waiting I experienced on my journeys.

On one leg of the trip, for example, I stood in line for food in the café car for almost an hour, and on the other, my train was delayed by five hours due to extreme heat — a factor that is increasingly impacting rail travel, The New York Times reported in 2024.

Amtrak did not respond to my requests for comment about my experiences.

Once your train arrives, you can just hop on and find your seat, much like on long-distance buses.

While I appreciated the uncomplicated boarding process, a thought or two about safety crossed my mind when I compared it to airplane boarding. That said, as someone used to traveling by long-distance and intra-city buses, I wasn’t too concerned.

In documentation about its safety measures, Amtrak said that “the security framework that works in the airport setting is not easily transferable to the rail station system.” Its trains instead rely on the Amtrak police department, a dedicated police force working inside train stations and aboard the trains, to ensure passenger security.

Even compared to driving or riding on a long-distance bus on the highway, the train ride felt very bumpy, mirroring the most turbulent of flights for hours on end.

For one leg of the trip, I booked a first-class roomette and was glad to have a space to lie down to ward off motion sickness, which got to me towards the end of my travels.

Roaming the cars was one of my favorite parts of traveling by train.

Although walking between cars was difficult — the bumpy ride meant I had to hold on tightly to available handles as I moved from one car to another — I enjoyed the freedom to walk back and forth between the eating and sitting areas, giving me a chance to stretch my legs during the long ride.

With the café and dining cars open and waits often affecting all passengers, traveling by train was much more communal than the heads-down, headphones-on experience of airplanes and long-distance buses.

The compact space aboard the trains makes it nearly impossible to avoid striking up a conversation with someone next to you, or at the very least, enjoy a fair share of eavesdropping.

With the $230 roomette ticket, I received a complimentary dinner in the first-class dining car.

I was surprised that the experience resembled a fine-dining restaurant, from the amenities to the staff’s attention.

With each table having its own white tablecloth and rose bouquet, I almost forgot that I was moving at nearly 80 miles per hour during my meal.

Unfortunately, the train I’d booked a first-class ticket for was five hours delayed. By the time I boarded at Tampa, which was at the latter end of the train’s Chicago-to-Miami route, its complimentary first-class food options had run out.

While I was expecting a three-course dinner with options like steak or roasted salmon, we were instead offered a turkey sub, a ham sandwich, or a cheeseburger, offerings I recognized from my previous travel in coach.

While I expected fancier menu options, the cheeseburger I ordered came out looking (and probably tasting) much nicer than the microwaved version offered in the café car. It had toppings like lettuce, tomato, and pickles, and had a side of kettle chips.

I know my experience wasn’t typical and that the route was affected by mechanical and timing difficulties, and I received an apology email from Amtrak. I still enjoyed the food that was served, even if it wasn’t the three-course steak dinner I had expected.

Amtrak did not reply to a request for further comment.

Even with all its delays, inefficiencies, and dwindling food options, traveling by train gave me a more fulfilling and enriching experience than I expected.

From looking out the window at new rural landscapes to experiencing school-cafeteria-style communal eating, my train journeys felt more like experiences in their own right rather than simply a way of getting from point A to point B.