I just returned from a trip to Italy where I was able to take the train from Venice (pop 250k) to Trieste (pop 230k, 400k metro) and back then high speed train-train-bus to a small village in the south where I have family.
I was amazed at the convenience and reach of the Italian rail system. It puts Canada system to shame
Granted Italy benefits from a higher population density than Canada (both the geographic size and population favour Italy) and Italy had a preexisting train travel culture. Still the fact that you can fairly easily connect two cities in the 100-250k population range is astounding, imagine being able to take a train from oshawa to Peterborough for example.