A simple solution to your objection would be to run the rail lines to the major airports, where one can do something radical like “rent a car”.
Or do you also feel that people should not fly?
no, I think that's the smartest solution. It just doesn't "get rid" of traffic in the city. Unless you have the infrastructure to go from point to point then I just don't see the market based solution.
As an example, the Southwest Airlines president stated that he was never competing against other airlines in Texas, he was competing with cars.
The infrastructure is expensive, the unions control the employees and gas is relatively cheap. So unless the convenience of the rail outweighs that of the car, well then you get the Amtrak boondoggle.