Thanks for the correction Peter. I had the impression that the FL operation was going to use cars similar to the Cal-Car-derived stuff being built for the state operations - theoretically capable of 125 but mostly to be used at 110 or less (much less, in CA at least).

If you look at the right definitions, 125 max. speed might tickle the bottom edge of HSR. However, I don't see it that way; it's really the top end of high-quality conventional rail. Another consideration: if it's not fully grade-separated and securely fenced, it's not HSR in my book; iirc there are some grade crossings on the FL line, with all the trimmings in terms of warnings and advanced gates of course. There's nothing wrong with what FEC/AAF/Brightline is doing, but it's not true HSR. Though, given the state of passenger rail in the U.S. outside of the NEC, 125mph probably would look like HSR to most observers. Even people on I-5 in the Valley seldom exceed 100mph by much.

I agree with BOB2 that CA would have been better off from a transportation standpoint improving (and possibly extending) it's existing regional Amtrak lines with 125-mph trains, rather than shooting for the HSR moon without the necessary budget and other agreements and ending up with very little. But of course it wouldn't have the glitz and the benefits for Quentin K. Even 125mph trains would require new track in most places, but not the kind of over-the-top stuff needed for 200mph; unfortunately, that's dull, ordinary, civil engineering so it's unlikely to be funded. As I've noted other times, if the hyperloop thing works, it'll render conventional HSR (and most air travel, really) instantly obsolete for the 300-500 mile flyover trips, but rail travel for intermediate points is still needed even in an age of hyperloop and Google cars (perhaps even especially so, with the Google cars largely eliminating local transit).

And as for the comment about the FL project being a real estate scheme: you've just defined virtually every private surface transportation project ever done. Passenger rail doesn't make a profit (and never did, really) after all costs; if you're lucky, it makes enough from fares to break even on direct operating cost. The profit comes from what you can make out of developments surrounding it. Once that associated profit's gone, the transportation becomes just a public utility that you either dump on a convenient tax-supported entity, or convert to a regulated privately-owned public utility where an ongoing profit is guaranteed with tax-paid subsidies if necessary.