while I am annoyed at so many 'half-measures' that HSR endures in this country, I do agree that getting something going, faster and more often, is a good step.
If we see ridership spike big time, as the train is almost competitive with the car.... then all of a suddent 250mph trains start to be possible.
I can't believe it's so difficult to do when we can spend billions on a single aircraft carrier to bomb other countries, but what do I know about running the government.