You have stated 3 facts, and believe me I know about that train, but you obviously missed the point of this post (because it doesn't apply to you). $20 is 4 times as much as $5. Let me repeat that: 4 times. Let's say you were buying a ticket to Europe that costs $450. Alternatively, you could get a Z class ticket for $1800 (i.e. 4x450). Certainly, biz class is more comfy, but it costs a lot more.

I understand what you're saying about comfort and less travel time, but this is the budget travel forum. There are times when budget concerns trump comfort, travel time and even safety.

I guess this post was meant to be in the non-existent "extreme budget" travel forum. It's hard to find people who are appreciative of this kind of travel, let alone willing to do it themselves.

The way I figure it, I would much rather spend an extra 3 hours traveling on buses along the gorgeous Pacific coast than spend an extra 2 hours working to make the extra $15 to pay for the train. I certainly don't expect you to think the same way (most of the world doesn't), but I just wanted to point out that you are absolutely correct about the train, but absolutely missed the point of the post.