It used to be any railroad that wanted to carry US Mail, so all of them, was required to hitch at least one passenger car onto their trains. The railroad executives insisted that this was so burdensome it would put them out of business so the law was changed. But before that change you could take a train to literally anywhere in the USA where freight trains go, which is basically everywhere including many small towns.

E.B. White wrote a marvelous essay on the subject called The Railroad.

Japan privatized their railway in the early 90s. It's really good. This is not an endorsement of privatization just a counterpoint to the argument of national vs privatized transport systems. What it means is leadership and management has to be truly held accountable.

Japan is well known for its excellent rail system, which is almost entirely privately run.

For European countries your point stands.

If companies in the US and Europe had the same sense of social duty that companies in Japan do, this wouldn't be an issue in the first place, though.

japan maybe? I don't know all the details of their setup though. I know there are multiple lines managed by multiple different companies though.