Originally posted by MichaelW
Big cities like London , Tokyo etc rely heavily on railroads to service their commuter needs. It would be impossible for over 1million people to commute into London by car, there simply isnt room to park them all. In the UK, the rail network is overburdened by the sheer number of people who use it. After decades of under-investment, the infrastructure is in desparate need of updating.
In France and Japan where they take rail investment more seriously, long distance travel by rail is achieved at speeds of 200km/hr, from city centre to centre, not to some edge of town airport.
Michael, yes, you're quite right that passenger trains may well be able to make a go of it in some cases. The eastern seabord of the U.S. may be another case. The cities are not very far apart, and trains can move from city center to city center quickly.
By and large across the U.S., though, airplanes and then driving are much favored compared to trains. This is sensible given both the large distances in the U.S. and the great spread of cities and suburbs.