Passenger trains are successful on the East Coast
They are competing with planes, and very successfully. With passenger rail stations already downtown, a short cab ride gets you to the station at your origin, and from the station at your destination. The airline passenger needs to drive or ride up to an hour (or more) to the airport, spend an hour or two in security and boarding, make the flight, disembark and wait for luggage (another hour or so), then drive or ride an hour or more to the destination.
From Albany, Philadelphia, and even Washington, DC to NYC, the train is faster downtown to downtown than flying. And, because it eliminates the need to pay tolls, find parking, deal with downtown traffic, etc., it is often much more convenient than driving.
