That's because trains in the US are incredibly slow. There is nothing inherent in train travel the requires it to be that way. If you visit a country that actu

That's because trains in the US are incredibly slow. There is nothing inherent in train travel the requires it to be that way. If you visit a country that actually invests in train travel you'll see it's a fast, convenient way to get around. The most underrated aspect, IMO, is that it's not a hike: the train stations are slap bang in the middle of every city. That's even true in the US, it's just the rails between the cities that let the whole thing down.