Devil's advocate question: I don't really remember my railroad history in the US, but I do know that railroads are so mediocre as to be barely usable these days

Devil's advocate question: I don't really remember my railroad history in the US, but I do know that railroads are so mediocre as to be barely usable these days. Does that have anything to do with weakening the railroad industry at a critical moment just before the automobile industry popped up and ate their lunch? Could we be risking a similar problem here with the successors to Facebook's social media, Google's internet search algos, and Amazon's shopping experience?