Another study is about to begin on the feasibility of putting a high-speed rail line between Houston

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21. Intercity bus was the fastest growing mode of transportation in 2012

Intercity Buses Offer Affordable Alternative to Air Travel

As airfares continue to rise, intercity bus travel is booming. Right now, intercity bus travel remains America’s fastest growing form of city-to-city travel. From 2011 to 2012, intercity bus travel grew 7.5 percent, outpacing the growth of rail service (3 percent in seatmiles), airlines and automobiles.

The expansion of bus service grew because of “curbside operators,” led by BoltBus and Megabus, grew at a particularly rapid rate, expanding the number of departures from 589 to 778, a 32.1 percent increase.

http://petergreenberg.com/2013/04/06/intercity-buses-offer-affordable-alternative-to-air-travel/

Buses are slower than train, but they have more flexibility in creating routes with multiple destinations. So door-to-door, they are not a lot slower than train. They are somewhat worse than trains when it comes to transferring to other modes of transportation to reach your final destination, e.g. rental car, taxi, limo, city buses. Services like uber may change that.

High-speed rail that is only a little faster than busses door-to-door, but as expensive as airplanes, will not compete.