A maglev train traveling 500 km/h can get you from DC to Boston in less than 2 hours. Philadelphia to Boston in about 1 hour. You could commute to a job in another city at this timespan.
A shinkansen train takes about 3 to 4 hours to get from DC to Boston, and 90 minutes to 2 hours for Philadelphia to Boston. You could do a day trip for fun.
Amtrak's proposed $151b "true high speed rail" upgrades to Acela would get you from DC to New York City in 94 minutes. From Philadelphia to Boston in 3 hours. This is still just short enough that you don't need to use vacation time to do a weekend trip on a 2 day weekend. Leave work at 5, get to your destination at 8:30 maybe. Head home at 5, get home around 8:30 maybe.
Acela currently takes about 5.5 hours to get from Philadelphia to Boston on average and costs about $300 for a round ticket. Sometimes it takes as long as 6 hours.
The Northeast Corridor local service takes about 7.5 hours. Sometimes as long as 9 hours if things are rough. On average a round trip ticket will be about $140 though if you get your timing right you can go round trip for as cheap as $64 or even $30.
Can you imagine the transformative power high speed rail infrastructure would have for the polycules of America... and the long-distance discord partners...
