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What makes the U.S. odd in terms of its transportation system is that nobody else in the world would even consider flying between two points as close together as New York and Washington, D.C. This is the kind of trip where even a regular train can compete with an airliner, and implementing high-speed service would extend the competitive range of that "short" trip even further (say, New York to Cleveland).

Yes, the problem is the government. After 9/11, any private railroad could have easily floated bonds to finance high speed tracks and enignes to serve the entire Northeast, and eventually the Ohio area. Meanwhile, Amtrak has just sat on their lazy asses.

See #38. There are very few "private" passenger railroads these days, and running passenger service on freight alignments is becoming less feasible as time goes on.

Amtrak did not sit on its lazy ass. It cannot float bonds unless the government authorizes it.

There are now two High Speed Rail Initiative bills before Congress. One gives $12 billion to Amtrak for bonds, the other gives the money to the states.

The private railroads aren't in the position to issue bonds for a total rebuild. Wall Street is already punishing some of them for thinking long range and not just in a 4 quarter timeframe.