At least in Ohio, regional rail is the new thing — the planning commissions and mayors and governor are all working (with varying degrees of enthusiasm) on a passenger rail network connecting, eventually, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Cleveland — with stops in the old (as in “we can tell you about the time Joseph Smith — or Al Capone! — came through town and stayed at THAT hotel” old) transit hubs like Bucyrus and Circleville. At the moment I think the “north central Ohio” hub is drawn on Mansfield, though Marion is identified as another likely candidate. The last four towns I mentioned all have between 10 and 60 thousand residents, by the way. Bucyrus once had over 30k and is now closer to 14k — train enthusiasts will recognize the name because they make train car cranes there. There’s lots and lots of rail sitting there, rusting. Oh, and the cities (at least Columbus) are bringing back light rail, too.
I’m also surprised no one has mentioned one of the silliest things about traveling up and down California — namely, that if you want to go from Grand Central Station in Los Angeles to the train station in Fresno, you have to spend five hours on a bus first. If I want to take the train to Chicago from here in Columbus, I have to drive or take the bus to I think Detroit first. This can contribute to the lengthened trip times on Amtrak.com — buses are slower than anything other than a single person driving the entire distance (said distance being long enough to require stopping) by herself.
