"High-speed rail will give Michigan a transportation option that will increase energy independence, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Granholm said.

You got it, we need a high speed rail line to create jobs and cut CO2 emissions. Not because the public wants one.

Just like Europe and it's green energy push, if  want to gauge the potential success of a high speed rail  project, it helps to look at an example such as Japan's Shinkansen high speed rail system.

According to Japan Railway & Transport Review the trains have become, how do you say, expensive:

   Ironically, after the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen in October 1964, JNR fell into the red. The next 23 years saw endless deficits, leading to the ultimate division and privatization of JNR in 1987. One reason for the sudden reversal was that the Tokaido Shinkansen lost money during the early years while the government insisted that fares must remain low. In addition, the necessary business measures that could have turned things around were delayed or never implemented.
    Because neither the politicians nor the public faced up to this bleak reality, JNR soon fell into a pit from which it could never recover, forcing taxpayers to assume a horrendous debt of some ¥23 trillion out of a total of ¥28 trillion that will stretch far into the 21st century. And even now, although the debt problem is well known, politicians still continue to call for further investments in the shinkansen network and other railway lines.

23 trillion yen is equal to 239.95900 billion U.S. dollars.  Setting aside the fact that the United States government is broke and this project will crush the US economy, how much of the 239.959 BILLION dollars will the State of Michigan be on the hook for?