Not sure why there is any need to "take it down a notch or two" but OK.
"Gee, I dunno if that's such a good idea." There, better?
Actually that's no worse than some of the responses the first time I tossed out the West Shore idea, altho they have gotten progressively tamer each time around.
Realistically, I don't see a dedicated passenger track being successful. What good would it do to spend cubic dollars for higher speeds, if you have passing sidings and have to wait in one if the opposing train happens to be late for some reason? So now you are looking at two tracks, one for each direction with provisions for a cross-over move at intervals. And at various places along the way, CSX would still have a branch or customers on the north side, thus requiring either complicated interlockings and signalling and scheduling to let freights cross over, or bridges. And let's not forget true high speed service would likely require the elimination of every single highway crossing on the route. That cost alone is staggering.
The taxpayer would be better served to give each and every rail passenger a free plane ticket and forget the whole idea - not saying we
should but I bet it would cost less in the long run.