I could see two paths being able to financially make it and turn a profit. New York to Washington. New York to Chicago. Beyond them, there’s zero chance that any of these will ever pay back what it costs to build and run it.
I did the math elsewhere....if you ditched the rail project and the State of California gave a 100% subsidy on round-trip airfare from SAN Fran to LAX it would STILL be cheaper.
“New York to Chicago”
Why would anyone take a “high speed” train that would take 3-6 times longer than flying, and cost more (unless heavily subsidized)? It would certainly never be enough people to make a profit.