I don't know details on how CA compares to Italy, but Italy has built a very good high-speed network. A sizable portion of it is through fairly mountainous, ver

I don't know details on how CA compares to Italy, but Italy has built a very good high-speed network. A sizable portion of it is through fairly mountainous, very seismically active, pretty populated regions. I recently took the Frecciarossa from Bologna to Florence and was really looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the view of the Italian countryside. Instead, you spend most of your time going through tunnels, with the occasional quick glimpse of the countryside out the window. Milan to Rome is about ~350 miles (580 km) and the train takes about 3 hours, compared to a ~6 hour drive. I believe this is about the same distance from LA to SF.