Passenger trains are definitely the one thing Europe does better than the US.
One time I took a train trip, with a group, from London to
Hong Kong. Visits to major cities along the way. But being on the train was the best, and great, but interesting differences, from country to country.
The first time I took the S-Bahn from Frankfurt to Stuttgart, Germany I was amazed at the smooth, quiet, and FAST ride. It was snowing when we passed just outside of Mannheim and it was like a picture postcard.
Western Europe has the population density to support a railway system. 463 people per sq mile in an area that's a little over half the size of Alaska. Our population is skewed heavily to the two coasts, with a few islands in between. Very few people want to take a 3000 mile train trip and there simply isn't enough population between the coasts to make it worthwhile. It worked only as long as we didn't have air service and the Interstate network.
I totally disagree.
Tour buses, definitely yes.
TGV type trains? Not so much. At the speed those trains travel, calling them "sightseeing trips" is an oxymoron.