High speed rail tends to be better because trains are supported not by air but by rails on the ground. Weight penalties are significantly reduced.
One aspect of HSR vs air that I have bit of issues but are rarely mentioned is what car people call NVH characteristic - Noise, Vibration, and Harshness - are much worse in HSR than airplanes. It's a bit of in-between with high speed taxing, windy day in a high rise building and rollercoaster ride all the way to the destination.
Airplanes are magic carpets once up there, and that can be more comfortable than trains.
I find aircraft much noisier than any train. More like magic vacuum cleaners, they seem to be the best use of noise-cancelling headphones and earplugs aren't uncommon.
Vibration depends on how well the track is maintained, but there are certainly fewer surprises (turbulence). There are videos online of people balancing coins on trains — I did this myself once from Malmö to Copenhagen Airport, though that is only 200km/h.
Tokaido Shinkansen N700/700S. There are lots of upsides to HSR such as extremely good seat pitch and total absence of security theater, and it's true that the airliners has a loud constant white noise, but when it comes to noise and vibrations, I feel airplanes less... intermittent and less interrupting. Those Recaro camp chairs aren't too bad either.
One aspect of HSR vs air that I have bit of issues but are rarely mentioned is what car people call NVH characteristic - Noise, Vibration, and Harshness - are much worse in HSR than airplanes. It's a bit of in-between with high speed taxing, windy day in a high rise building and rollercoaster ride all the way to the destination.
Airplanes are magic carpets once up there, and that can be more comfortable than trains.