I don't question it and just file it away as a puzzle piece.
Madness string 19991
The one train trip I did from Denver to New York took three days, and at one point, because of a train derailment outside Omaha, we had to spend six hours on a bus. We didn't even arrive in time to get to our final train, so Amtrack bought us plane tickets from Chicago to New Jersey. Most Americans are not comfortable with train travel.