Taking slight issue with his hyperbole about no other country with a comparable GDP per capital lacking HSR. Obvious nations to point to are other anglosphere countries like Ireland, Canada, and Australia. The UK's got "HSR". Norway has none that I know of. Same with most of the other Nordics (Iceland has no rail transit period). Once you get east of about Germany there really isn't too much HSR in Europe.
Anyway. It definitely sucks. I was in the Twin Cities last week talking to co-workers who had flown in from Chicago. One train a day, 8 hours. Driving only takes 6. Embarrassing.
I mean Canada and Australia are America-Lite basically. Very similar urban layout.
Canada literally has pretty much a straight line across flat land which is home to about half the country/20 million people in the form of the Quebec City-Windsor corridor and somehow doesn't have HSR which is wild
Norway has a single HSR line, connecting Oslo airport with the city. Its basically just built so that politicians don't have to sit with the plebs, since it's much more expensive, but not much faster than the normal rail connection.
Other than that, rail has been getting slower in Norway over the last few decades.
This is why we need more than just high-speed rail. Rural areas and smaller cities must be served with excellent train service too.
