Europe's high-speed rail isn't perfect, but it's still miles ahead of what we have in the U.S. Sure, there are delays and issues, but it connects cities efficiently and offers a real alternative to flying. Instead of just criticizing, maybe we should focus on how to bring some of those benefits here.
It is somewhat strange to me that trains aren't a solved problem by now. Cheap and fast public transport for people who cant drive seems like a very good thing to me, but trains are (in my experience) often overcrowded, expensive and sometimes late. I know overcrowding is a problem on Japanese trains as well but they seem to be largely solved there otherwise