This, but you ever notice that it’s pretty much never passenger trains? This efficient mode of transportation is largely designed for and used by industry rather than for travel or commute.
Yet massive amounts of goods are shipped long-distance via truck anyway, clogging up highways and polluting far more per-ton and per-mile moved.
Truly the worst of both worlds! USA! USA! USA!
The origin of that saying, the trains in Fascist Italy, were basically never on time. But the fascist government put great effort into telling people that, at long last, they were running on time, so it stuck.
Narratives dig deeper into cultural consciousness than reality itself.