I don't know why the parent got downcoted. US rail freight is the envy of the world. You didn't get the European passenger rail experience without some trade offs. Here's a briefing on the subject from the Economist.

http://www.economist.com/node/16636101

Australia is the same, here passenger rail between major cities is mostly something old person take as a scenic route. Often it is actually more expensive than flying.

A logical outcome of the combination of private companies owning the railways and the government's willingness to build a lot of road capacity for passenger use.

Considering that most rivers go from the north to the south and the big distances (compared to, say, Japan or Europe), that's logic. Also explains the role of air travel.

Inasmuch as it's optimized at all.

We really do have arguably the best freight rail system in the world. http://business.time.com/2012/07/09/us-freight-railroads/

"America's freight railways are... universally recognised in the industry as the best in the world":

http://www.economist.com/node/16636101