by kaitoku
All good arguments above. But one merit of the Florida HSR line is that it probably can be built soonest with minimal NIMBY/legal brouhaha, and function as a showcase line. This is very important, as few Americans outside of readers of this forum can distinguish between light rail, conventional (amtrak), or high speed rail (even the media, which should know better, frequently does this). Only 20 percent or so of Americans have a passport, with a lower percentage actually traveling to a country with real high speed rail (i.e. not Mexico or Canada). Couple this with the fact that only 2% of the American population has ever even ridden a passenger train, and you have major ignorance of the benefits of HSR. Having a true HSR up and running in a reasonable amount of time can be a game changer in terms of public perceptions and, most importantly, willingness to pay through taxes for other HSR lines. Tellingly, JR Central apparently sees the Florida HSR as very attractive, focusing its marketing push there, while pretty much leaving Alstom, Siemens, et al to fight over California's problematic HSR project.