[arinlen]

> "functioning" is an exaggeration. Most of the German trains are slower than 300kph most of the time.

This is a silly red herring. Top speed means nothing. The only key factor is door-to-door travel time, and it means nothing if a train goes 180km/m in some sections and 320km/h in others if in the end you reach your destination 1h earlier than b flying.

> They are also often crowded, delayed or outright cancelled.

Things that are completely unheard of in any sort of public transportation service, specially air travel!

Please look at the Netherland's Schipol airport, one of the largest in the world and often used as the paragon of well functioning hub, and how they've been systematically cancelling and delaying flights throughout the year.

> They are also quite expensive, compared to planes.

No, not really. Only the lowest-cost low-cost operators tend to beat high speed railway on price, but they often have flights to airports well outside of city centers or even in suboptimal terminals with all sorts of hidden costs, and ultimately lead to a slower suboptimal experience.