The problem is that this talk is nothing new. If this comes even close to fruition the airline industry will lobby congress and all sorts of legal opposition to prevent this from occurring. What we really need to improve our system is a full privatization of our rail infrastructure. All the red tape that the FRA creates needs to be cut. If private developers were given the green light to just build without these environmental restrictions, something would actually get done. Requiring developers and operators to be fully accountable for their actions and replacing FRA regulations with insurance requirements would serve as an excellent free market source of checks and balances.
If you compare the way that Greyhound bus operates to that of the Chinatown buses, you will see that the Chinatown buses are not only cheaper, but provide greater on-time performance and reliability as well as a nicer ride. The same would work with the rail industry if allowed to succeed.