I think trains are better than cars for long distance is a pretty easy case to make, I think pros/cons bus or subway vs car is gonna come down more to personal preference.
but like, I'm a college student right, and it's about a 4-5 hour drive from my parents house to my school, or a 6 hour train ride. I cannot possibly imagine preferring to drive home for breaks. I can get up on the train, they sell mediocre coffee! it's much easier to work read or nap. there's legroom on even the bad seats in modern Amtrak trains.
honestly i’d ride the train more if we got some of those super fucked up high speed ones they have in asia. those seem sick
My dad talked about taking the train around breaks at Cornell, today you could at best take the train to Philly, train to NYC, and maybe a Chinatown bus?