Yes, I am comparing roads that run at full capacity to rails that are basically unused, because that is normal. Realistic trains in the USA are perhaps 20% ful

Yes, I am comparing roads that run at full capacity to rails that are basically unused, because that is normal. Realistic trains in the USA are perhaps 20% full. Including the stops, they average 35 MPH, which is about 56 km/hour. They run once or twice an hour in the morning and in the evening. They shut down for many hours each day, for example from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM and also from 8 PM to 5 AM. I'll pick several examples I've seen. These are thus not perfectly random, but they are not chosen to be unusually bad. Typical railway right-of-way is 100 feet, which is enough for a highway. Caltrain example: It's every 90 minutes, though sometimes better if you are at the right stop (express service) or at the right time of day (rush hour). On weekdays, 62190 people ride it. It goes for 77.4 mi (124.6 km) in 143 minutes, so about 32 MPH or 52 km/hour. The land usage per person is 657 square feet. Tri-Rail example: Trains normally run an hour apart. It is 38 miles per hour (61 km/h) overall average, which is pretty awful compared to a car on the nearby interstate 95. It carries 14000 per day over 71 miles, but of course most people don't go the full distance. The land usage per person is 2678 square feet. MBTA Lowell example: Today they ran 8 trains. On weekdays they run up to 26 trains, with a shutdown for 6.5 hours each night. The line does 11965 people per weekday, with maximum distance 25.4 miles (40.9 km). It takes 47 minutes, so about 32 MPH or 52 km/hour. The land usage per person is 1121 square feet. Look at the square footage. Without subsidies, ticket prices would need to be like a day of renting a townhouse.