Even so, the passenger trains don't make abrupt starts/stops like the freight trains do, because people would complain. :)

See also: https://thebeaverton.com/2019/08/european-relatives-visiting...

The american trains seems too high for Europe though. Would it work for vans and RVs too?

And slow. For many ‘muricans, they only get two weeks of vacation, and it is very rare that their employer will allow them to take all of that time at once. I don’t care what you get as a cushy HN reader, your situation is not most ‘murican. When you only get to take a couple of days, you don’t want to be spending it in transit. As it is now, air travel pretty much takes up a full day with arriving x hours early, delays, etc.

For all the VCs whose money they are going to burn.

The idea is that you get to the station in the evening, board the train, then on the train, you eat, relax or do some work depending on how busy you are, take a shower, and sleep and in the morning, you are at your destination. Train stations are usually closer to downtown than airports and you spend less time with security, check-in, etc... another advantage. If you account for the hotel stay you saved, net travel time can be effectively zero.

And that's just the "transportation" aspect. In addition, train cruises are a thing. Not as big as cruise ships, but that's the same idea.

If I had first-class air travel money, which is probably their target demographic, I would definitely ride such a train.

It saves a lot of time, because you can use central train stations instead of transfering to/from the airport, and you depart late in the evening (get full use out of the departure day) and arrive somewhat early in the morning (don't lose much of that day, either).

So it does not have to be cheaper than an inland flight, it just has to be competitive with flight + 2x transfer + hotel, and while it might be slightly less comfortabel than a hotel room, you avoid airport transfer and -security, which is nice.

Which may be a desirable policy outcome for state rail agencies - but this is a private venture!

I think cost is an under-appreciated aspect of this. You're carrying 5-10x fewer passengers per-train, at greater cost (the cost of turning over a stateroom is many times higher than cleaning a coach seat, along with linens, food, etc.), on very expensive custom equipment that isn't suitable for other uses.

There seem to be two "major" (really heavy scare quotes here) players in the US private sleeper service scene. Dreamstar IMO is the more promising of the two (heavy caveat that this is relative to each other, not absolute odds) by realizing the only way to make the economics work is the ability to charge $$$$$ for tickets.

The other (Lunatrain) IMO is just out to lunch, with a claimed focus on affordability. None of the above leads to affordable tickets.

Along the inlets of the bay, up the sierra nevadas, through the great basin, through the moab desert with mesas either side and then into the rocky mountains winding along cliff tops. It goes through the salt flats and salt lake city at night but the daytime views either side of that one night are incredible and make the train trip entirely worthwhile. A great way to experience a sleeper car, you’ll see why people do it rather than fly and a great experience all round.

Don’t bother with the denver to chicago leg though unless you really like corn fields (chicago is absolutely worthwhile visiting but probably not worth the extra night on the train when you can fly)

We also did a lot of tourism in Europe with night trains. No need to book hotels or lose daytime in travel, always start the day in a new city.

The idea is you get in around 8am (hopefully in station near the middle of the city) and then you can get on with you days activities immediately.

And private jets are more than a "bit" more expensive for most people. Multiples of first/business class even for a group.