I think one of the biggest issues that prevent making things better for passengers isn't necessarily the cost of building the infrastructure, but the acceptability of the status quo. The benefit to going with rail isn't dramatic enough to inspire urgency.

I really think it would be useful to completely eliminate most vehicles from city centers. Only mass transit would be allowed, and walking/cycling would be prioritized over that. People would go to one of the parking lots (which would also be train stations) outside the city and take mass transit to go to some common hub of the city. Since driving directly to your destination is no longer an option, catching a train closer to your house and improving mass transit automatically becomes important, and lower pollution and traffic within cities will improve many aspects of city living. Also, since roads would be much smaller, buildings can be built more densely, which improves walkability and livability of cities.

However, people are currently addicted to cars, so the conversation will likely never happen.