I add a half-point, though it is applicable to only a smaller part of the US rural land: urban networks using existing rail lines can expand outward quite some distance into rural country. So, just like wayside stations on high-speed lines for smaller cities, towns (and villages - if there are any called so in the USA) on the right place can piggyback on systems socio-economically justified with urban demand.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}