High-Speed Rail in the United States

With talk of economic stimulus funding and gas prices, some projects are getting lots of attention. The California high-speed rail is one of those projects that could come to fruition soon. Planning for the line started in 1996, and it encompasses a 800-mile network that is state-wide; the trains will be capable of speeds up to 220 mph, and the project is estimated to cost about $45 billion overall. It will help to “provide Californians a safe, convenient, affordable, and reliable alternative to driving and high gas prices; to provide good-paying jobs and improve California's economy while reducing air pollution, global warming greenhouse gases, and our dependence on foreign oil.”

California and Pennsylvania have two of the few areas in the United States designated for high-speed rail. (Pennsylvania has the Keystone Corridor, where it can operate trains above 110 mph.) Most other areas are in planning stages, and the passage of Prop 1A this past November has confirmed that California can go ahead and start construction of the project. According to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, passage of the proposition will “provide $9 billion in bond funding… and $950 million to finance capital improvements to commuter and intercity rail as well as local transit lines that will connect existing infrastructure to the high-speed train system”. The project will not be completed for a number of years, but it is a great step in a forward-thinking direction.
For more information, please visit: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/