The US does actually have railroads, but it's so huge that it's utterly unreasonable to build enough railways to be a major contender for general transit.
At least, that's my perspective as a US citizen who commutes by train daily.
I US actually has ok railways ... for fright. Commuter trains are admittedly underdeveloped, even in regions that have similar size and population density to European countries.
The US does actually have railroads, but it's so huge that it's utterly unreasonable to build enough railways to be a major contender for general transit.
At least, that's my perspective as a US citizen who commutes by train daily.