I spent 15 hours in a sleeper car on an Amtrak Superliner train going from Denver to Salt Lake City. For $400, I stayed in a private cabin, which had two seats during the day and two bunks at night.

I booked a $400 roomette for a 15-hour Amtrak ride across the Southwest in January 2025. Then I booked a $450 first-class ticket for a 3-hour train ride from Washington, DC, to New York City. I was ...