The US has been bought and manipulated by the automobile and oil industries. From early on when GM and others bought the street car networks and shut them down

The US has been bought and manipulated by the automobile and oil industries. From early on when GM and others bought the street car networks and shut them down, to lobbying the Eisenhower interstate network in place, this country has been and continues to be built around the idea that everyone should be required to use a car to participate in all aspects of their lives. In order for an intercity rail network to work, it needs to link dense urban cores that also have useful transit systems. A train between Omaha and Kansas City does no good if you get off the train then face a 14 mile journey through the suburbs to your destination. 2 things need to happen before a rail network makes sense: 1. Urban infill. I know Denver has a policy for this in place, I'm sure others do too. But sooo many city cores have huge tracts of land that are derelict, or unused. New development should be incentivized to make use of this land. 2. Growth boundary regulation. Portland is the best example of this. With out this you get the exurbs and sprawl (sorry to point out Kansas City again, but it is one of the worst offenders here) which demand a car to traverse.