I use the app frequently and I actually love it. Pick two stations, pick a train, apple pay, done. It’s not flashy, but I appreciate the simplicity.

Even with the delays to air travel today, Amtrak would still be slower. Amtrak is not a service you use if you need to be somewhere at a particular time.

Renfe in Spain is awful

I don't know. Last year I was trying to buy bullet train tickets for an upcoming trip to Japan, only to find that the booking website operated only during daytime work hours (Japanese, of course). Then there was me trying to buy train tickets from Mt Fuji area to Tokyo. I could buy them, but they could only be picked up in Tokyo, not Mt Fuji! That was a pretty major wtf, given Tokyo was our final destination.

Spoken like someone who has never tried to book on IRCTC.

Are you sure??? Because some of the ones I’ve used in Europe and Asia are god awful