It's true, air travel is more economical. Here in Spain we have thousands of high speed rail trains... and the truth is that even though a ticket is not cheap, not even the line Madrid-Barcelona (which can cost 80€ for a return ticket) is profitable... even when that's the most used high speed train in Spain.

So, yes, it's a great system for the people who use it, and I like the fact that we have such a thing, but it's actually supported by taxes and not that used by the general population.