High Speed Trains only succeed when there is a strategy in place to future-proof the country in terms of distributed MEDIUM size cities, robust public transportation within the cities, and all manner of orchestrated common sense across the twelve core policy areas from agriculture to water. I've been the best ideas I have been able to collect from thousands of people at two places:
http://bigbatusa.org (US oriented), and
http://www.phibeteaiota.net (world oriented). VERY interested in more articles on high speed rail, but with all the attendant context.