It is all about what is a cost effective solution.
HSR on a short route is a waste of money. The slower speeds being quoted are because they are not using dedicated express rails. A major problem in all proposed US HSR plans.
Phase one of what I propose would improve the tracks to allow the underutilized Acela to run closer to its maximum speed. Creating at least a few large sections of dedicated express rails is a must. Currently Acela runs at about 60 percent of its top speed because of rail restrictions and traffic congestions with freight and local transit rail using the same rails.
The upside of this plan is that the track upgrade would be more cost effective than one to support HSR because the rail requirements to handle a train running up to 150 mph are lower than they are for HSR in excess of 200 mph. Besides, why buy a train capable of in excess of 200 mph if rail traffic limitations will prevent it from ever running at those speeds? It is like buying a $200,000 race horse to pull a kids wagon on a dirt trail. That is what they did with Acela. It was a foolish waste of money then and doing it again would be ignoring mistakes of the past.
Once the route has been established and a customer base solidified, maybe a year or 2, phase 2 of the plan would be to replace Acela with a modern rapid rail train like the one being planned for the Gautrain in South Africa. Running at about 120 mph it would be the perfect regional rail solution for the 95 mile run. It would be more cost effective to purchase and operate than Acela ever was or HSR could hope to be on that route. Which means the upgrade to replace Acela should be planned from the start and not pushed off with excuses.
The reason you wait a year or 2 is to help establish the specifications required for size and configuration of the rapid rail trains. I say trains because you would be buying more than just 1 train to support the schedule required to draw customers away from airports.
Which adds fuel to the rail fight. You need dedicated rails to better handle TWO WAY traffic of the faster trains. The logistics of train operations boggle most HSR proponents.
