
The Rest of the Industrialized World Has High-Speed Rail; Why Can’t the U.S.? - jseliger
https://www.engineering.com/BIM/ArticleID/18792/The-Rest-of-the-World-Has-High-Speed-Rail-Why-Cant-the-U-S.aspx
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PaulHoule
So far in California they have gotten themselves into a rough spot.

It would be great to have a competitor for 767s and 737s on the SFO-LAX run.
(HSR won't really stop anyone from driving, except to the airport)

On the other hand, it seems incredible that an HSR could terminate anywhere
near the urban centers of Los Angeles, San Jose, or San Francisco. Yes, these
areas have some of the most feared NIMBYs and BANANAs on the planet but are
just plain crowded and would require that a huge number of residences,
businesses and existing infrastructure be relocated.

(This last is a big reason why HSR is almost impossible in the US East --
after what happened with Route 93 in Boston you just can't build an urban
highway anywhere in the U.S., even with a population that perceives highways
as benefiting "people like themselves.)

