In light of President Obama's call for US development of the world's fastest trains, Slate discusses the degeneration of US rail travel since the early 20th Century. 

From old train timetables, an indication of the current state of the industry:

"[The] Montreal Limited, for example, circa 1942, would pull out of New York's Grand Central Station at 11:15 p.m., arriving at Montreal's (now defunct) Windsor Station at 8:25 a.m., a little more than nine hours later. To make that journey today, from New York's Penn Station on the Adirondack, requires a nearly 12-hour ride. The trip from Chicago to Minneapolis via the Olympian Hiawatha in the 1950s took about four and a half hours; today, via Amtrak's Empire Builder, the journey is more than eight hours. Going from Brattleboro, Vt., to New York City on the Boston and Maine Railroad's Washingtonian took less than five hours in 1938; today, Amtrak's Vermonter (the only option) takes six hours—if it's on time, which it isn't, nearly 75 percent of the time."

It will be interesting to see whether there is political and popular will to recreate America's railways as a viable alternative to cars.  Of course, for vast stretches of the US, automobiles will probably always be the best transportation option, but for densely populated areas, there's no reason that trains couldn't compete with cars--and planes--as a speedier, greener (if done right), less-hasselsome option, both for commuting and longer distances.  And, of course, it would provide a new lease on life for train geeks around the country, who are currently largely reduced to, say, poring over old schedules and fantasizing over how cool a high-speed network would be...