>>1961171This problem was already solved by the PRR over a century ago with the creation of North Philadelphia station. HSR on the Keystone would necessarily mean utilizing North Philadelphia station and skipping 30th Street. The problem is it's smack in the middle of the Philly Badlands, a collection of the city's most blighted, crime-ridden neighborhoods. As a result the station unironically has the lowest ridership of any Amtrak station in PA and is in an awful state of repair.
That being said it's not like the station is poorly situated in regard to transit, quite the opposite actually. It's basically the second nexus for where the old Reading and PRR trunks used by SEPTA regional rail cross, and it has immediate access to the Broad Street subway.
It's not unimaginable that in the future this area becomes gentrified and redeveloped. I think there's already been proposals to turn the station itself into a massive mixed-use TOD for a couple years now, but I can't seem to find much more info beyond the holdings company is still looking for an investor.
