High-speed trains better than flying?

So, I've been thinking about this for a long time: how to make train use more ubiquitous in the United States, especially high-speed trains. This interest was piqued again when I read the Treehugger article "Spain's New High-Speed Rail Service Challenges the Airlines." So, just how much better is it to take a high-speed train (at various average speeds) over that of flying?

I made the following assumptions when making my back-of-the envelope calculations:

1. Three average speeds of high-speed trains (HSPs) were calculated: 100mph, 150mph, and 200mph. This allows for possible stops on the way.
2. The train travel distance is the same as a driving distance. Driving distances were measured using Google Maps. This assumption does not always hold, but I do not know of any railroad distance measurements.
3. All flights are non-stop direct flights (i.e., no layovers or transfers).
   
4. Flight times were estimated by looking at flight times of actual flights using Orbitz.com.
5. Travel times to and from terminals were consistent estimates (1 hour for trains, 2 hours for airplanes).
6. The requirement to arrive early at the terminal remained consistent across estimates (1 hour for trains, 2 hours for airplanes).
7. The requirement of staying at the terminal for baggage pick-up remained consistent across estimates (0 hours for trains, 1 hour for airplanes).

With these understandings, the following estimates (very rough) were found:

Mode	From	To	Distance	Total time
HSP100	New York	Richmond	342	5.42
HSP150	New York	Richmond	342	4.28
HSP200	New York	Richmond	342	3.71
Plane	New York	Richmond		6.50
HSP100	New York	St. Louis	950	11.50
HSP150	New York	St. Louis	950	8.33
HSP200	New York	St. Louis	950	6.75
Plane	New York	St. Louis		8.00
HSP100	New York	Austin	1741	19.41
HSP150	New York	Austin	1741	13.61
HSP200	New York	Austin	1741	10.71
Plane	New York	Austin		9.5
HSP100	New York	San Diego	2801	30.01
HSP150	New York	San Diego	2801	20.67
HSP200	New York	San Diego	2801	16.01
Plane	New York	San Diego		11.50

Obviously, the longer the distance of travel, the faster the trip is made by plane in comparison to the train. However, if you add in the time for possible layovers or transfers (anywhere from 1 to 3 hours), airplane travel times (even on longer trips) increase beyond the level of the type of train travel times that you might expect, based on the speeds of the new Spanish trains.

Therefore, it may make more sense - in terms of travel times - to take a fast train, rather than to fly. Add into this the comfort issue (trains have more space than airplanes) and the fuel cost issue (trains use less fuel per passenger), and one may well think that adding in a HSP system to the United States' transportation options may be a good one to make, especially serving those cities that already have railway infrastructure.