It's amazing how long it's taken, how does a train take over a decade ?
Even just high speed from Bakersfield to LA would help tons of people.
There's no reason we can't have high speed throughout the nation. Imagine taking a train from LA to NYC in 30 hours.
Too many pockets to line...
Who is the customer for that ticket?
Long train journeys are a thing for some- with a private car there's also the appeal of views out the window while working on a script | program | report and having a car on a transport flat behind.
Not for everyone, but there are customers.
A tiny, insignificant number which could never justify the cost
With security and other hassles you basically burn a day in flight; so 30 hours NY/LA and being able to sleep, have high speed Internet, make normal phone calls, move around a bit, and eat (hopefully) normal food would not really cost any more time.
How long is that train ride going to take when a guy kills himself on the track?
Denver to LA in 15.
I largely hate flying even though I've accepted it's the only way to travel overseas.
I'd love to take the full 30 hour train ride vs the 70 it takes now
That probably is not enough to make a train line profitable (they have larger capacity than airplanes, and you’d need fairly frequent service)
Luckily, as the crow flies, it is about 4,000 km from LA to NY, so a train route connecting population centers would probably be about 6,000. With a fast train (300+ km/hour top speed), the target of 30 hours will allow for some stops.
That will increase demand, with most passengers doing only part of the route.
We are a nation of middlemen. Everyone at every level needs their cut and we will invent more levels if there is a possibility of money being left on the table.
Honestly, as some living in France, with a lot of high speed train lines, I'm not surprised. For example one of the most recent lines [0] took more than a decade.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGV_Bretagne-Pays_de_la_Loire