>>1212832I think Shinkansen networks only work for Japan. The US needs European designs and European construction to be much more viable.
You see, Japan has come to the conclusion, conventional rail above 320 km/h is not for them. Instead, they'll go to 500 km/h with Maglev systems.
Europe on the other hand sees no future in Maglev since the infrastructure costs would be too high, plus the unique rolling stock couldn't use existing infrastructure and rail stations.
The US is also huge, well, the contiguous US is. The only comparable systems are China and Russia, and even then Russia just has 7 day long train journeys, and China has overnight sleeper trains, and HSR that can take a whole day to get from one part to another.
My proposal would be something inbetween China and Europe's design. Super long distance HSR at 400+ km/h, but instead of using Alstom AGVs and Siemens Velaro trains, the only 2 right now that can achieve 400 km/h, why not go for a TGV/Talgo style solution?
My proposal is taking the basic concept of Renfe's Trenhotel. Japan used to have the same sort of thing, but they've been scrapped entirely in favour of the Shinkansen. Anyway, the Trenhotel (and former Japanese services like the Cassiopeia) is a set of permanently coupled cars, with the ability to attach a locomotive to either end. The trainset cannot be broken up, but it can be hauled by pretty much anything.
If you were to then add a pair of TVG POS/Duplex like powercars to each end and have those also be permanently coupled, you could have a high speed sleeper train.
