I think that this is one of those things that sounds great, but is just not practical considering the way Americans like to travel. In many cases local commuter options are financial loosers too.
I see one poster mentioned Boston/NY/DC. And, we have something already - The Ocella. But, man it is pricey. And, not all THAT fast. And, due to the mostly urban routes that exist for the Ocella, I can see where we would never be able to turn that into a bullet route because there just is not that much open space to really get up to that super fast speed to significanly cut the commute time.
But, rail travel even though less hassle is still not without hassel. You have to get to and park at a station, get transportation when you get off the train. There is generally additonal cab fees and parking fees at your drop off location, etc.
The thing is that yes - it is a time saver/money saver compared to air travel. But, it is not necessarily a time/money saver over driving your own car depending on the routes/locations and accessibility of stations. HS Rail may work in locations where the road infrastructure is bad, and access to reliable vehicles is difficult. But, faced with a 4 hour drive to NY in the comfort of my own car when I can listen to my own music and drink coffee and have a snack all on my own schedule OR take a train, cut the actual travel time in half, but add the extra head-aches of traveling out of my way to a train station, parking in a less than desireable area, making my way with all my crap through the stations, down the escalators, cramming onto a train, then having to sit next to strangers who will likely take up too much space, smell or be rude or all three, while not being able to eat or drink in my seat ( many of our commuter vehciles do not allow food - and "clean" is an issue if you allow food), so that I can get off the train and then try to find ground transportation or walk many many blocks all while dragging my necessary bags and briefcase, etc - all on the train's schedule by the way... I will choose my own car every time.
connie