Is the weight of the car really that much of an issue? With steel wheels it seems like the rolling resistance is going to be hardly affected by a few extra ton

Is the weight of the car really that much of an issue? With steel wheels it seems like the rolling resistance is going to be hardly affected by a few extra tons per car so it's just acceleration that suffers, and since you only stop once per every few hours of travel that seems quite marginal. On the other hand, a train where you are crammed in like an airplane with no amenities but can travel quickly on high speed rail would be a lot more cost efficient, but at that point you're basically replicating the airline experience except that it will never be as fast over medium or long distances even with high speed rail.