Amtrak is a very reasonable option for shorter trips. I've taken it many times from Richmond to NYC (about 350 miles, 6 hours) and Richmond to Savannah (500 miles, 9 hours). The door-to-door time is not much longer than flying when you consider airport wait times, weather delays and the like.

The Northeast Corridor and northern Virginia tracks are usually free of delays, but elsewhere in the country Amtrak isn't too punctual.