1. And important detail they omitted about the Northeast Corridor Line is the catenary. The present catenary from Washington to New Haven was installed in the 1930's. It's worn out and needs to be replaced. Also, it isn't a constant tension catenary; the wires stretch out in summer heat and shrink in winter cold. So we need a new constant tension catenary. Make that repair and the Acela could move at much higher speeds.
2. Professor Robert Cervero commented on some of the real problems California is having with its high speed line. First, the line goes through places which are already heavily developed with large populations. That makes land very expensive. Another big expense is that this is rugged land which needs a lot of bridges and tunnels; they cost a lot to build. The project has run out of money and is now moving very slowly if at all.
3. In Texas the answer is for a private company to build a high speed railroad. Well, Texas is the land of wide open spaces so perhaps their terrain is more like China's than California's is. I say more power to them and I await the new railroad. And in Florida it gets better. Brightline, I mean Virgin, already exists. It hasn't reached Orlando yet, much less Jacksonville as was promised but it does go to Palm Beach. Again, this is a private project. I say more power to them. Miami to Palm Beach is up and running. As for the rest of it, to be very frank I'm not holding my breath. If passenger rail service were really profitable the private railroads never would have given it up and except for the Northeast Corridor it costs the Federal Government millions of dollars. But I am ready to be convinced by the Texas and Florida private railroads.
4. On thing that was not explained in the video. Why must a high speed rail line be elevated for its whole length? Do they do that in Europe and Japan? I have never heard that they do. But perhaps I'm missing something.
