Can mass public transit work in the Southeast?

Public transportation is frequently cited as a possible solution to problems with air pollution and the depletion of fossil fuels in developed nations. US cities such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco have found mass bus and subway transportation to be beneficial.

Closer to home, a high speed rail corridor is being proposed. Proponents of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor argue that the rail line will help decrease air pollution created by automobiles. Its opponents argue that Southeasterners will not use the rail line enough to justify the tax dollars that would be spent on it.

Can the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor work? Should federal and state tax dollars be used to fund this rail project, or is it a waste of public funds? It may be helpful to  consider past successes and failures of other rail projects in the US, such as Amtrak and high speed rail in other states/regions.

High Speed Rail and the SEHSRC– General Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_High_Speed_Rail_Corridor

http://www.sehsr.org/faq.html

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1998/fra2998.htm

http://www.bytrain.org/highspeed

Problems with Funding and Use of High Speed Rail:

http://www.newsobserver.com/1035/story/368193.html

http://www.newsobserver.com/1035/story/368199.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-02-rail_x.htm

Opinion in favor of high speed rail:

http://www.southeastalliance.com/faq.html

http://www.sehsr.org/news/GilCarmichael.html

http://www.trainweb.org/hsr/

Opinion against high speed rail:

http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=1915

http://www.publicpurpose.com/ic-fhs~1.htm

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-nadler101101.shtml