How can you have a world's series with only one or two countries participating?
There is a plaque commemorating the US High Speed Rail pioneers at Princeton Junction, one of them was my step-father. The US could have rail service like this if the government was willing to foot the bill. But these quotes pretty much sum up why France can leave the US in the dust sitting in a traffic jam.
Rail subsidies are largest in China ($130 billion) and Europe (€73 billion), while the United States has relatively small subsidies for passenger rail with freight not subsidized.
This film is in French, but you can get the point of WHY rail is important, ...