Is Amtrak always on time? Are you nuts?

Except for the east coast Metroliners and one or two other short-segment trains, Amtrak is chronically late and totally unreliable.

What really matters is how long a trip the train is taking and at what point you are joining it. If you are coming into Chicago from Cleveland, that train may be the Lake Shore Limited, which originates in New York or Boston. From Cincinnati the train is the Cardinal, which orginates in New York and stops in Washington DC. In either case the train has been on the rails for 12 to 18 hours before it reaches Ohio... during which time it will fall further and further behind schedule.

We live in a small town north of Seattle which is the Chicago-Seattle Empire Builder's last station stop before terminating. We routinely see it stagger into town four, six, eight, ten hours behind schedule.

You should only ride Amtrak if you don't care when you arrive.