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[quote user="John WR"] [quote user="Sam1"]The estimated cost to achieve the stated improvements is $151 billion. [/quote] Sam, Right now the Northeast timetable shows the Acela takes about 6 1/2 hours between Boston and Washington, DC.  The approximate cost is $200 to $225.  Along the current route the speed could be reduced and will be reduced when the whole catenary is replaced.  However, I don't know what the travel time will be then.   No doubt, a new high speed track on the Northeast Corridor would be expensive.  When or if it will be accomplished is questionable right now.   You give flying time Boston to Washington, DC as 1 hour and 24 minutes.  A close friend of mind flies on domestic flights fairly often and I take her to the airport.  Our experience at Newark Airport is that you need to be there at least 2 hours before flight time in order to be sure you will get through security and other details and be on your flight.  It usually takes less than 2 hours but if you do not allow that amount of time you risk missing your flight.   (My friend had a joint replacement several months ago.  She missed one flight because the TSA security officer suspected she was trying to smuggle something aboard the plane and simply refused to hear her explanation.  If she possibly could she would ride Amtrak rather than flying but Amtrak no longer serves her destination). I fly occasionally but not very often at all.  When I do I find air line seats extremely small and confining to the point where they make the trip difficult and uncomfortable.  I know air fares are now relatively low and you get what you pay for.   If Amtrak were to build a new high speed track in New England as I understand their plan the train would run from Boston to New York with probably a single stop at Hartford.  However, there could not possibly be any stops on the Shore Line (Providence, New London, New Haven or Bridgeport) because the new rail line would not pass those stations.  Because of that people in Rhode Island and Connecticut are not very enthusiastic about that proposed high speed rail line.   John [/quote] I am not sure why you are ascribing $151 billion to me.  That is the estimated amount of the improvements as per the article.  My point is that the estimate does not include the finance costs (debt service), which can lift the total cost significantly. The reason the cost estimates don't include the debt service costs is because the proponents don't have a realistic plan to finance their project(s). My estimate of $228.9 billion is very conservative.  It assumes that the project could be funded at the U.S. Treasury current long bond interest rate, and inflation would stay about where it is over the life of the project. Both are best case scenarios.
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