As opposed to the countless survivors of most plane crashes.
Not to mention the one critical advantage of the train, run out of fuel or some breakdown, you just stop in the middle of nowhere, on a plane, it's likely a different ending unless flying near Hudson river with an amazing pilot.
High speed trains don't derail that often if built well. Modern high speed rail systems have better safety records than planes.
China's high speed rail system has had 1 accident with 40 deaths out of several billion passenger kilometers of trips, and that was involving a slower, older technology. The latest, fastest trains in China have not had any accidents to date.
Japan's Shinkansen has had 2 derailments in half a century of operation, one due to an earthquake and one due to inclement weather. Both incidents had zero injuries.
The European systems have had notably higher accident rates but still surpass the safety records of planes.
