Just to add some numbers, the freight modal splits as of 2018 (most recent year with complete data), measured in tonne-kilometers, for a few countries [1] and the EU taken as a whole [2]:
US: 45% road, 38% rail, 17% other (water/pipeline)
Europe is not perfect for rail. Shorter trips, complicated geography, etc. etc. there are some legacy technology constraints that the us doesn’t have or solved a hundred years ago (loading gauge, max train length, couplers).
The fact is the us could do better, pointing to Europe which could also do better is moot.
US: 45% road, 38% rail, 17% other (water/pipeline)
France: 75% road, 15% rail, 10% other
Germany: 62% road, 25% rail, 18% other
Spain: 92% road, 4% rail, 4% other
EU: 76% road, 19% rail, 5% other
[1] https://stats.oecd.org/BrandedView.aspx?oecd_bv_id=trsprt-da...
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...