I'm not a rail hater. I typically take the train to NYC although that's because I hate driving into Manhattan and getting into the city from the NYC airports is awful.
However, I used to travel to Houston all the time from New Orleans and I flew. That's more like a 5 hour drive (vs. 3-4 from Houston to Dallas) and I rented a car when I got there. Where I was going was basically never in anything like a city center.
Having to or wanting to rent a car when you travel to somewhere does significantly lessen the potential train advantage of dropping you off in downtown if that's not where you need to be.
However, I used to travel to Houston all the time from New Orleans and I flew. That's more like a 5 hour drive (vs. 3-4 from Houston to Dallas) and I rented a car when I got there. Where I was going was basically never in anything like a city center.
Having to or wanting to rent a car when you travel to somewhere does significantly lessen the potential train advantage of dropping you off in downtown if that's not where you need to be.