Ugh... This does not sound good to me. We've been bickering about HSR for decades and nothing has come of it since HSR speeds have ostensibly been too expensive and ambitious for any government to tackle. The HFR proposal was meant to move beyond that impasse by making meaningful improvements that are actually pragmatic enough to get done. This sounds like yet more scope creep that will inevitably lead to more bickering, indecision, and a project too daunting for timid governments to take on.
I hope I'm wrong, but we've been down this road many times before. The whole thing is so ridiculous that it was ripe for satire over a decade ago. Yet somehow we're to believe that this time Wylie Coyote's new plan for HSR speeds will actually succeed. Whoot.
• Video Link