[rezgi]

Chicago > LA flights look like they take 5h (time on the plane.) Add the time to go through the security theater, transfers from and to the airport, and you're not that far off from how long it would take by train.

I'm not even considering the delays because of weather, technical, etc.

Trains don't have as much potential for being delayed (train schedules have a lot less variance because the track is pretty much fixed and the timetables too), and they take you right from the city center to the destination's city center.

Comfort doesn't compare either, you don't have to pay extra so you can actually sit down like a human being and retain your dignity.

And if the trains were electric instead of diesel like they are in the US, I wouldn't be surprised if it was also cheaper than flying.

As a counterexample to China, Switzerland has an amazing rail network. Trains going from anywhere to anywhere, comfortably, reliably, quickly, and multiple times a day. And yet, the country is very mountainous, and has lots and lots of smaller cities.