[carapace]

The answer to this is the same as the answer to gaadd33's comment: Distance and density. Europe and the East Coast are densely populated and the distances between the population centers are relatively short. The reasons are even the same: both were laid out largely before the advent of motorized transportation.

So you're right, in places where the density is high and the distances are not too great passenger trains can be competitive. (Especially if the tracks were laid a century ago, or more, eh?)

In the US we have "the largest highway system in the world." (For better or worse.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Highway_System_(Unite...