> When you exit the train station in most of the above countries, you are greeted with a properly air-conditioned/heated waiting hall, delicious food, hotels wi

> When you exit the train station in most of the above countries, you are greeted with a properly air-conditioned/heated waiting hall, delicious food, hotels within walkable distance, and buses/subway to anywhere you would need to go. Are you thinking of regional or long haul service? My experience was that the regional/commuter stations (RER, RENFE Cercanias) weren't particularly extravagant. Air conditioning, in my experience, is much less of a thing in Europe than the US. In terms of American stations, Boston's Back Bay station (well, the platform for the commuter rail) is just gross. It's hot, dark, and sooty due to the diesel trains. IMO the San Francisco, and to some extent the rest of the Bay Area, does pretty well by American standards. Powell station has underground access to a variety of shops and whatnot, the SF ferry terminal is its own little posh mall, and even BART's latest mistake, the Warm Springs station, is actively being targeted for complementary development. Even Marin has the multi-modal station right in downtown San Rafael with a bunch of restaurants and shops within a two block radius.