People also used to ride in stagecoaches, but no longer do.
I'll bet you that you're not going to get a FReeper here, on this thread (or any thread) telling you that they've been riding a stage coach as a part of their normal transportation practice -- in their lifetime... LOL...
On the other hand, I've been riding trains as part of normal transportation, from a kid on up and just recently down the West Coast and across the country...
It's a great way to travel and I would recommend it to all.
Passenger trains may possess a nostalgic and romantic appeal, but would a privately ran train today be economically viable, i.e., could a profit be made?
It should be a part of the national transportation infrastructure, just as bridges and highways and Interstates are part of the national transportation infrastructure.
It's just another piece of the whole transportation picture...
And when I have made my trips around and across the country, many times over again, it wasn't because of nostalgia, but because I was "getting somewhere" (i.e., I had a destination in mind and a reason for making the trip in the first place that had nothing to do with the train) and it was an excellent way of travelling to make that trip which was needed (i.e., the trip needed to be made by me).
One time when I was riding the Coast Starlight down the the West Coast, I came across one fellow that told me he rode down to San Francisco, regularly, as part of his commute to work and then back to Seattle, for two years, as he worked for Apple in the Bay Area. He did it from once a week to two weeks and then tele-commuted the rest of the time. He said this was a much better way to get down there, than driving or flying.