It would be nice if this got built, but I will be shocked if it does. The only way it will happen is if we take a battering ram to a massive amount of red tape, NIMBY resistance, and car and airline industry lobbying.
The biggest hindrance is the environmental red tape and then the corruption. China has high speed trains from Shanghai to Beijing and that is roughly the distance of Chicago to NYC.
States aren’t capable of building big infrastructure like this. Federal cash with federal strings attached is incredibly effective.
Look at interstate highways as an example. Fairly standard overpass bridge replacements cost $50M. Project quality varies but stuff gets built mostly on time and with minimal corruption.
As evidenced by COVID, America is too dysfunctional to achieve this. China's advantage in this arena is that they are a mostly functioning autocracy and can ram through (literally) paths for a train where needed.
You mean NIMBY resistance like using eminent domain to take a lot of people's property? It's certainly sometimes appropriate but there should rightly be a high bar.
