I'd actually love to take some sort of sea train, underground tunnel or floating death wave train one day. It wouldn't be relaxing, peaceful, or cheap. But it would be an adventure.

If we put in a mag-lev system that averages 250 mph from station to station, an overnight sleeper train across the country becomes extremely attractive.

if I’m going from California to New York

Yup, that's like 70-80 hours, depending on where in CA you're leaving from. So you'll be on that train for 3 days, and have to change trains 2-4 times. The plus side is that it's cost-competitive w/ flying ($400-ish, vs $200-ish flying), but that's for coach, so you'd spend those 3 days sleeping in a chair. If you want a sleeper room, that's like $2k.

A direct flight would take 5-ish hours and cost $200-ish.

There's a reason nobody rides trains in the US, and it's because it takes way too long and it's too expensive. It would be a fun experience, but not great if you're using it for transportation.

Exactly. I live near SLC, and to get to SF would take:

• ~19 hours by train and cost $92 in coach
• ~11 hours by car - $60 in gas in my hybrid, $130 in my minivan
• ~2 hours by plane - <$50 by plane (Frontier)

And that's a route with a direct train connection, so literally no transfers. So, a train takes way longer, is probably more expensive (esp. if I take family), and I'd probably need a rental car on the other end. And that's for a "best case" scenario with direct train service.

Screw that, trains anywhere other than the east coast of the US makes pretty much no sense for transportation. As an experience, sure, but not to get from A to B.