This is not an “either-or” choice between BRT/freeway-based buses and rail, though.
Besides, even if we never invest in buses ever again for the rest of time and go all-in on upgrading current Amtrak services to something like New Jersey’s statewide system, it’ll take years to collect enough money to buy new land, build tracks and trains, and run trains frequently enough for it to be worth it; you’d need a stopgap solution while this happens, and you’d end up circling back to enhanced buses, anyways.
Also, the source of the ideas about I-40 bus lanes etc. is the FAST study conducted by the Regional Transportation Alliance (the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s transportation advocacy arm), plus the ongoing FAST 2.0 study run by the RTA (the transportation arm of Raleigh’s Chamber of Commerce). This matters because this - which NCDOT has supported and has been trying to incorporate into its own work!! - calls for I-40 bus lanes that are better integrated than just having park-and-rides nearby. The FAST 1.0 report explicitly recommends things like:
The fourth bullet point takes on your concern spot-on, if you ask me:
