JwDespite its history and lack of high speed rail, I think the system in America right now is pretty decent. America has the most miles of railroad out of any country in the world*. There are lots of railroads in use in America today, just not high speed ones. Railroad companies here simply make more money by shipping hundreds of transport containers on one train at a slow speed, than by shipping a small amount of passenger carriages at a high speed.
You can both ship transport containers and have quality high-speed rail for passengers. They're not mutually exclusive