More Novels should have trains as settings, they add stakes as you can't leave, they give depth to the scenery, it give the characters an ever changing backdrop, its the perfect excuse for side characters, there are no downsides to having a train in a novel. I mean The Great Gatsby which is considered the American novel is full of train mentions
You can write a love story, a murder mystery, a thriller, a realistic drama, high fantasy and sci-fi and have all of them have a train and there would be no downsides
