America _does_ have great trains. The world's best, in fact. They're just used to carry freight, not passengers, which actually makes much more sense for most o

America _does_ have great trains. The world's best, in fact. They're just used to carry freight, not passengers, which actually makes much more sense for most of the routes given the distances involved. [1] I can't find a more recent direct comparision, but in 2000 38% of freight in the US went by Rail, as opposed to 8% in Europe - by 2010, that rose to 43%. At PPP, US Rail transport is the cheapest in the world, including China. There are areas of the US where high-speed passenger rail would make sense, and it's a shame that more hasn't been done in that area, but I do think that since the industry was deregulated the market has done a good job of concentrating rail investment on areas where it actually makes sense. 1 - http://www.economist.com/node/16636101 http://www.economist.com/node/16636101