Imagine going from DC to Charlotte in 1.5 hours and from DC to ATL in 4 hours. For $81 round trip. There’s dedicated baggage space with no weird fees. Trains are always in time. Everyone has a seat with dedicated table space.
It’s actually ridiculous. Flying within Europe and Asia are super cheap. Even round trip. But this is why our airline lobby kills high-speed rail. So they can charge whatever they want….or you drive 10 hours.
In those countries the regional airlines compete with the rail lines for business. Which drives down prices. Rail travel in Europe is amazing. Ryanair and Easyjet be fighting for their lives.