Short answer: cities are too far apart and the USA is large. However, how much funding is there to really implement the same thing that exists in Japan but in the United States? Also, is there an incentive for that in the first place? What about population density? Japan is more compact regarding their population density while that’s not the case for America plus both Osaka & Kyoto aren’t too far from each other (but Miami & Washington DC are distant).
Nope
It’s all car lobbies, corrupt politicians, people doing everything possible to get rid of trains for people, get rid of bicycles in cities, everything needs to be designed for cars first, then whatever, turning every US (And Canadian and Mexican) city in a car park.
Hell, jaywalking as a concept was invented by car manufacturers because cars were killing so many people. Instead of doing something about the cars, we now just blame it on this invention from cars manufacturers.
Anything to push cars
Take a look at the Netherlands. It’s been working on less car for decades. It’s enormously densely populated and we simply don’t have the space for ginormous car parks and clogged road arteries. Back in the 1960’s they stopped the carification of cities and pushed for bicycle use and public transportation. Cars can get to most places still, but everything is principally designed for pedestrians, then cyclists, then cars. Most city centers block even bicycles, allowing people to walk only
The result? Moving about in the Netherlands is super easy, and the cities are amazing and safe. There are bicycle freeways, the cities are much quieter, the air is cleaner.
Other European cities finally followed suit in the past decade, with great results
Canada is trying a little bit of this in Vancouver, with mixed results because a lot of the designs they’re trying are designs everyone knew were bad and dangerous since back in the 1980s, but good on them for at least trying.
I know, you were talking about trains, and keep talking about bicycles, but it’s relevant. The two go together and should be implemented together.
Short distance, < 1 kilometers, people can and should walk. < 10 kilometers, bicycles. More than that, you use trains in between cities and busses for the less urban routes and inside the cities.
This is how it should be. People cycling are healthier. It generates less CO2, it pollutes less. Similarly, trains are way WAY more energy efficient and way less polluting than all those cars.
It’s just the politicians who keep being paid and lobbied to make sure car manufacturers can fill their pockets. Electric cars won’t change most of this, they only sort of solve the CO2 problem