The United States has the best trains in the world.

You have read the heading correctly. This is no trick; the United States has some of the best rail systems in the world.

What do I mean when I say the best?

Fast.
Frequent.
100% grade separated (including from passengers - I reviewed passenger gates on a previous post).
Easy to use.
Electrified.
Crimeless.
Free (some of them!)

There aren't just one of these systems in the United States... there are actually many. And nearly all of them have these characteristics.

Okay... so I may have omitted one detail. These trains are technically "Light Metros" or "People Movers", and all the ones worth mentioning exist at airports. Miami and Detroit have them, but they do not serve much of a transportation purpose. Newark, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Houston...

Entry to Denver International Airport's train

Just imagine what the United States would look like if railway networks were taken half as serious as airport trains. One of these systems even excels at uniquely conveying a meaningful message to its passengers: Denver International Airport (DIA) has a train uniquely branded with music at each station.

DIA's train departing from a station

DIA's train has clear messaging, up-to-the-minute arrival information posted (trains depart every 2-4 minutes), and total grade separation from passengers. The system operates 24 hours a day.

Although no ridership statistics exist as far as I am aware, I would bet that ridership is much higher on a single airport transit system (at one airport) than on the entire Amtrak national rail system. What does this say about national priorities?