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> But in the US, the places where high-speed rail will work already have high-speed rail.

Huh? There is no HSR in the USA at present, the closest we have is the "higher" speed Acela service.

Edit: beaten

So high-speed rail is kind of a hard sell: a 5 hour drive is not that long, and a 30 minute flight is worth the cost if you really need to be there fast. The middle ground, a 2 hour train ride, is not really that compelling, and a ticket would probably cost as much as flying. (The first time I took the Shinkansen, I had a little sticker shock. $200 to ride a train!?)

I find that hard to agree with. City center to city center in two hours, in spacious comfort with the ability to do things while I'm travelling (e.g. easily get a laptop out and work as normal, or even just read papers), is a lot more of an attractive proposition to me than five (Five! That's almost a whole working day!) driving or half an hour of cramped flying, with all the airport nonsense surrounding it. It's not for you?

The one place I'd agree a little is on the price - but that's just speculation, and for a lot of people (maybe most of the target marked, depending on expectations), a price compatible to flying is low enough to attract them anyway.

NYC to Boston: 220 miles

NYC to Philly: 90 miles

NYC to DC: 225 miles

The busiest train route is the country is between Manhattan and Long Island. Every day a few hundred thousand people are shuttled in and out of the city on very low-speed rail.

But can you turn up 5 minutes before your flight and just hop on?

Mainline flights? Nope. But there are various airlines that let you do this.

One time, I was in Seattle and needed to be in Portland. I could have taken the train, but the schedule was very inconvenient. I then discovered SeaPort airlines, which operates single-engine aircraft out of Boeing field and flies to PDX. It was $80. I showed up 20 minutes before the flight. The check-in agent greeted me by name (since I was the only person on that flight), and we walked out onto the tarmac and into the plane. No baggage X-ray. No TSA. No metal detectors. I don't think I even showed anyone ID!

I believe US Airways operates a similar service out of LGA, although they probably have more security since their planes are more expensive and seat more than 12 people. But it can definitely be done, and it's a lot cheaper than a high-speed rail line that nobody is going to ride.

Look, I'm the biggest railfan there is. But in a country where the most of the major cities are very far apart, and where everyone owns a car and pays for the interstate system, high speed rail is a hard sell. I'm completely in favor of it, but I expect it to be a gift from the government: it will never pay for itself, and most people won't even think to use it.

"But in the US, the places where high-speed rail will work already have high-speed rail."

Huh? What do you consider "high speed"?