High-speed Rail from New York to Chicago should be the top priority of rail funding once the current round of amtrak expansion finishes and California High-speed Rail opens
Also Electrification and speed increases of DC to Richmond would be a high priority
Intermediate stops on the Chicago to NYC HSR would probably be Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Toledo and maybe South Bend
This would alignment would hit most major cities between the 2 and allow for connections to Toronto and Detroit via Buffalo and Toledo respectively
Toronto-Buffalo-NYC would likely get built as a branch line that would use a high speed alignment in Canada between Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, London and Windsor /Detroit
Why is Chicago to NYC a Priority over Southern HSR or Cadcadia?
Chicago to New York connects the 1st and 3rd largest cities in the US, and allows for revitalization of the rust belt which is critical for the future of the US as the climate worsens in the south. Additionally Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and NYC all have higher order transit already in place that could synergies well with the Alignment. Also NYC is already the hub for all HSR in the US that is currently active making it an obvious choice for building new infrastructure as there is existing infrastructure to use
Why is the Routing Going through Western New York instead of Pennsylvania?
I think Pennsylvania would be better served by a separate NYC - Philadelphia - Harrisburg - Pittsburgh - Erie, PA line which could be built later and allow for more frequent PA service
