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Eminent domain isn't that popular anymore unfortunately. Florida being one large empty red state, it's a lot easier to muscle 500 miles of new track into what's already there. To go up the whole east coast you'd have to wrestle with a half dozen different political machines. Even just limited to Florida, the line hasn't gotten past West Palm (yet), and was stalled for years due to lawsuits from just 2 counties.

Not the most popular opinion, but I believe it could be a net win for all: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/railroad-national...

The analogy that comes to mind is airports.

Acela tried... $150B pricetag :(

https://www.railway-technology.com/features/featuregrand-pla...

That $150B estimate seems wildly optimistic to me as well.

It took 22 years and almost $7B to build 22 miles of MRT (not high-speed rail) just outside of the DC beltway, and much of the route had an existing right-of-way. It's a populous area, but the DC to Boston route is quite heavily developed.