Belongings are one thing. The biggest problem I see with rail evacuation is the same problem a lot of existing bus-based government evac options have. They don't let you bring your pets. A lot of people refuse to evacuate because they can't afford many nights in a hotel, and the government-provided evac options prohibit people from bringing their pets along. Even if you're lucky and your own home survives, who's going to look after your cats or dogs while you're away for who knows how long? Then when it comes time to return, often people aren't let back in for prolonged periods of time until authorities decide things are safe. Imagine being in that situation, knowing that your pet is dying of dehydration while the cops sit there and decide whether it's time to let you return home or not.

I don't really think it's about saving the TV. I think the biggest reason people would insist on using private transport for evac is they don't want to condemn their pets to death.