I don't know which wealthy, western country you live in, but to be clear in the US Acela trains get up to 150 mph (241 kmh) -- admittedly in a short section, but with other sections that have a top speed of 135 mph (217 kmh). The entire route from Washington to New York has an average speed (including stops) of 90mph (140 kmh).
Should Acela be faster? Probably! But people should be clear-eyed about what the reality of the situation is.
That might be the average scheduled speed, but it’s not my average experienced speed on Acela, with about half the trips seeing significant delays from schedule.
Should Acela be faster? Probably! But people should be clear-eyed about what the reality of the situation is.