Chicago-Centralia travel (cost, train, Amtrak)

[andrewesque]

I'm thinking of traveling from Chicago to Centralia in September for a weekend, and the Amtrak schedules (Saluki and Illini service) actually work very well for me, surprisingly. I was just wondering if anybody on the forum had had experience with the timeliness/reliability of these train services? My Amtrak experience has been entirely in the Northeast, where I've found it to be on the whole quite timely and reliable, but I've heard a variety of opinions about Amtrak service outside the Northeast.

(Just in case you were wondering, I'm a carless Chicagoan, which is why I'm looking at the train. I could get a Zipcar for the weekend, but the train would be a big cost savings and I wouldn't have to make the 4-hour drive completely alone.)

Thanks!

[linicx]

I don't know if you are on a tight schedule or not. If you are then the train is your best bet. If however, you are not tied to a schedule, I will tell you that you will miss some beautiful country to explore that is not necessarily all boring corn and beans.

As to the other, my few experiences with Amtrak have been pleasant. I've ridden trains all over the US. By and large they have all been on schedule barringg unexpected problems.