RE: Amtrak's high-speed rail vision for 2040: New York to Washington in 96 minutes
I'd love to see al of this happen, but I'm not holding my breath. I've lived in the Northeast all my life. and I've seen Amtrak continue to slide downhill. I've also ridden the Shinkansen in Japan, and I am unable to see Amtrak ever developing the level of "insulation" required to run trains continuously at over 200 mph through high population areas. Evertime some drunken bozo gets hit by an Amtrak train outside of Philly, the first thing everyone wants to do is lower the speed limits! You've got to be able to build a corridor over 400 miles long that is virtually impenetrable to humans and vehicles. I don't see that level of commitment to high-speed rail in this country.
