Maybe some trains could be more redneck coded somehow? Steam trains with sweaty stokers and buffalo shooting from the windows of course had plenty of that, but how to bring something from that aesthetic to the present? Bar carriage with sports screens still sounds still a bit passive and cliche. Maybe a gym car? There are already kid and pet cars after all at least here. In German trains you get a real glass pint for your beer, I think that's a big plus.
I suspect that culturally for Americans to embrace trains, you probably need segregation; a free class and a ticketed class with a bouncer.
Riding the the train daily is the norm in the eastern United States. The urban density and shorter distances between metros allows it to be affordable.
The US is massive... riding the train between most cities is dramatically more expensive than flying and takes most of a day if not multiple days between cities.
I used to commute weekly between two cities in Texas and it was a 2 hour flight. (Houston - Lubbock)
i mean the Shinkansen has two classes as well :)
three, now!