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High Speed Passenger Rail: How fast is fast enough?

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Train service works best when there is a market that is looking for something cheaper, as fast if not faster than one's car, and conveniently puts the passenger in a position to easily (and cheaply) get to their destination.New York City is an excellent example of such a system.  My father, a commuter on the New Haven Railroad in 1968 (when service was very much a disaster) took the train from New Haven to New York.  The reason he did so was because the railroad was a better alternative cost wise and time wise than driving.  I rode the train several times from NH to NYC and observed with fascination how cars on the Connecticut Turnpike (now I-95) would often outrace the train.  The speed limit on the Turnpike was 60 mph.  The commuter trains on the NHRR might have gotten up to 50 on a good day, but the ride was like "a destroyer on a high sea.", according to my father.  Still, the cost of a monthly ticket was much less than driving a car into the city- and this is 1968, where fuel prices were around 35 cents a gallon.  Cars were OK if you could get around your destination easily, but even professional truck drivers wince if they have to go into downtown Manhattan during the day.  You could park a car in Manhattan at the time for around $300 a month at 1968 dollars.  It was cheaper and easier to get off the train in Penn Station, hop a subway, and walk a block to Washington Square, where my father worked.There are cities where the combination of mass transit, train service, and convenience would work for commuters.  The speed of the train would be a huge factor, but it's not neccessary to travel at Warp 1.  As long as the train and public transit can get you from your doorstep to your workplace, preferably starting off later in the morning, you will have a winning combination.  An example is Atlanta, believe it or not.  When I go into Hotlanta for a museum or a show, I drive my truck from Columbus to the southernmost MARTA station by the airport.  If my destination is on the MARTA main line(s), boom, I am in town faster than if I drove- particularly if I need to be there during the weekdays.  Or, I can get closer to an off MARTA destination by taking the bus.  It's a lot better than putting up with Hotlanta I-85, 285, 75, and 20 traffic.  The train would allow me to depart later from Columbus if it was faster than the 70 miles per hour speed limit on I-185.  (That speed limit is more a suggestion than the rule.)  110 miles an hour from the Columbus station (still standing) to the MARTA station- around 98 miles- would save me a lot of time- 30 minutes- and hopefully, cost less than what I pay in terms of fuel, insurance, and maintenance.  Commuters to the airport pay a local bus company around $50.If you could come up with a way to keep the fare low, the speed reasonably high, and the terminal adequately supported by mass transit (that was clean, and relatively crime free) you would make a lot of people consider the train as compared to car. The speed is an important consideration when competing modes of transit are obviously slower and more costly.
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