New Rail Study

[Bob C]

The point is, you are going almost the distance from London, UK to Cairo, Egypt, within one country (US) utilizing rail transport. This would not be inexpensive in Europe, nor would it be (even with the TGV, etc.), less than a day each way. This is what seems to be the expectation of Amtrak or an analog, in the US - and without using government resources/taxpayer funds. At least (being a train nut) you'd have the fun of RIDING and photo-ing from one ! Not a lot of folks will/can accept the time involved - like you, they need to be somewhere in hours. They won't pay tax or fare to subsidize my leisurely cross country ramblings (I'm retired), nor will they ante up for "Hi-Speed Rail" with it's infra-structure, property, safety, noise and other types of environmental impact. Amtrak, unfortunately, probably won't/can't get much better than it is without a better revenue source...hope someone with the genius, desire and connection$$$ comes up with an answer before I'm gone - but ... Bob C.