Eh, the Portland - Seattle - Vancouver BC Amtrak sector is also pretty usable. In practice I've found it's not substantially faster or slower than driving - at least not enough to make a big difference for me.
Pretty, yes, but geopolitical issues slow the service. We were at least two hours late thanks to various issues with crossing the border and fitting in with the cargo trains.
On a train I can read a book, eat some food, drink, stare at the scenery, check my phone, no problem because I'm not driving. On most trains a professional is driving, on a few a machine is driving, but either way it's not my problem.