High-speed trains are about getting rid of automobiles.
The "progressives" want us all living in high-rise apartments, crowded into the city centers -- where we are "controllable".
And the suburbs and the countryside can be left to revert to their "pristine" state.
An automobile, a home of your own...these things spell independence. Which is anathema to progressives...
Government/union jobs; small rent controlled urban apartments; public transportation and schools...
High-rise apartments equipped with centralized door locking, water, power and climate control. Approved entertainment and news feeds. And cameras to monitor everyone's coming and going. Keep the ants under control! Move them around efficiently, maximize their output!