Population density and urbanization is not equally distributed, the Eastern half of the US has a population density on par with Europe since a huge majority of

Population density and urbanization is not equally distributed, the Eastern half of the US has a population density on par with Europe since a huge majority of Americans live there. You are also starting from the assumption that higher population density is better for high speed rail, which is easily countered with my previous point. An argument could be made that, practically, high speed rail is really better suited to places with low population densities centered around urban areas... like the unpopulated parts of the US West. HSR is expensive and requires high degrees of funding and coordination. In other words there has to be a strong political and cultural will behind it, so yeah, it stands to reason that the US doesn't want it since they certainly have the money to do it if they want. Maybe there is a culture around forms of transportation that is particular to the US...