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As for the delays-yes, it has happened to me. The worst was about 6 hours late and that was 13 years ago.You are sleeping through most of the time the train is stopped so you don't realize until you wake up and find out. That I would say is a worst case situation and not as common as some lead you to believe.To see stats for yourself, do what I do and check out their report on the latest train times at
http://www.amtrakdelays.com
The week before I left every train I checked was running on time or within a 1/2 hr. We arrived on time to the minute!! ...