Not in urbanized areas J..... Most European systems don't spend 500 million a mile on new urbanized high speed guideway. They commonly access urbanized areas on existing alignments. Many of the systems like TGV specifically branch, and are interoperable with the "legacy" rail network, and routinely interline in daily operations. And, most of these systems are fully integrated with existing services, including the dual system in Spain, complete with variable gauge high speed trains.

As to what FRA will or won't permit, the US is so far behind the rest of the world, that it is now becoming a true embarrassment. The FRA will just have to get off its ass and start looking for real and cost effective solutions. That is why some of us work on things like PTC, so the choo choo's don't crash into each other in the first place? This allows for lots of possibilities to improve both passenger and freight safety in cost effective interoperable modes of operation. If money only grew on trees, we could do all sorts of things that gold plated cost plus consultants would get a percentage to promote? We need real and cost effective solutions now.

Since the saber toothed tiger might eat us, we shouldn't have left the caves makes the same sense as that philosophy? Bad things might happen, therefore we shouldn't do anything at all, or should make it so expensive that we can't afford to do it in any case? That, however, is even an anomaly even with many at the FRA. Most of the folks I know at FRA that have half a brain are able to walk and chew gum, and solve these kinds of problems. Only with some soap box politicians, the train haters, the bizarre holdouts at CHSRA, and with some of its trough nose inserted contractors is this gold plated project mentality the normal state of affairs..... either to line their pockets, or kill these projects.....

America is not a stupid country, we are pretty corrupt right now, though. But, I think we can solve this one, if we can overcome the latter?