Quote Originally Posted by cassiesmom View Post
I don't understand why fast "distance" train travel isn't as widely available in the U.S. as it seems to be in Canada and Europe. I traveled by train from Chicago to Washington, D.C. It was crowded, noisy, and the train arrived late. Train service in other countries must be better than it is here.
Shorter distances to travel, and in most European countries railroads were a prime target of both sides air forces during WW2. With all the destruction on the continent, they had a clean slate to engineer better railbeds. In addition, their economies were ruined by the war, so automobile travel didn't gain popularity until much later, by which time the railroads had been rehabbed and were in excellent shape.