I took my kids on a sight seeing train ride from Palestine to Rusk, TX. It is a steam engine with open cars. Nice ride through the woods.
We got halfway to Rusk and had to stop. A large pine tree had fallen on the tracks. So we went backwards to the original train station.
I have enjoyed a number of train rides, and do not dispute certain pleasures that are possible with them. But I do not think they are “best” in most instances most of the time and do not think they are more personally efficient than transportation alternatives the majority of the time, a difference that mere speed of the train will not solve.
You can go by train from New York City to Washington D.C. in about 3 1/2 hours. By car it takes between 4 to 6 hours depending on traffic. Yet the number of passenger trips between NYC and Washington D.C. by car, annually, is I expect greater than the number of passenger trips made by train. The essential trip time is only one factor which determines what form of transportation is chosen.