Which goes back to the issue of the difficulty of building high-speed rail across long distances.
Higj-speed rail can’t be built at grade like freight rail. You can’t risk a cow getting through a fence or a crossing signal failure leading to a high-speed train collision.
If you want to use it in place of airlines, you need high-speed rail. Something that the US has basically none of
Which goes back to the issue of the difficulty of building high-speed rail across long distances.
Higj-speed rail can’t be built at grade like freight rail. You can’t risk a cow getting through a fence or a crossing signal failure leading to a high-speed train collision.