High-speed rail in the United States
Encyclopedia
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
Acela Express
Acela Express
The Acela Express is Amtrak's high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York...
runs on the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to Washington, D.C. Unlike Asian or European
High-speed rail in Europe
High-speed rail is emerging in Europe as an increasingly popular and efficient means of transport. The first high-speed rail lines in Europe, built in the 1980s and 1990s, improved travel times on intra-national corridors. Since then, several countries have built extensive high-speed networks,...
systems, the Acela shares its tracks with conventional rail, and thus is limited to an average speed of 68 mph (109 km/h) for the entire distance with brief segments up to 150 mph (240 km/h). A federal allocation of $8 billion for high-speed rail projects as a part of the 2009 stimulus package
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
has prompted U.S. federal and state planners to coordinate the expansion of high-speed service to ten other major rail corridors.
America's first dedicated high-speed rail infrastructure is likely to be in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, consisting of a high speed line
California high-speed rail
The California High-Speed Rail project is a planned future high-speed rail system in the state of California and headed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority . Initial funding for the project was approved by California voters on November 4, 2008, with the passage of Proposition 1A...
between Anaheim and San Francisco via Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. The line is scheduled to begin construction by September 2012 in the Central Valley. The new line planned for construction in California would have a top speed in excess of 150 mi/h and is classified as a High-Speed Rail–Express corridor.
Definition in American context
In Europe the definition of a minimum speed for newly built high-speed railHigh-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
ways is 250 km/h (155.3 mph) while for upgraded conventional railways it is 200 km/h (124.3 mph). In places where high speed rail programs are in earlier developmental stages or where substantial speed increases are achieved by upgrading current infrastructure and/or introducing more advanced trains, lower minimum speed definitions of high speed rail are used. This is the case in the United States. For transportation planning
Transportation planning
Transportation planning is a field involved with the evaluation, assessment, design and siting of transportation facilities .-Models and Sustainability :...
purposes focussing on the development of high speed rail, the United States Department of Transportation
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
(USDOT) distinguishes four types of intercity passenger rail corridors:
- High-Speed Rail – Express: Frequent, express service between major population centers 200–600 miles (320–965 km) apart, with few intermediate stops. Top speeds of at least 150 mph (240 km/h) on completely grade-separated, dedicated rights-of-way (with the possible exception of some shared track in terminal areas). Intended to relieve air and highway capacity constraints.
- High-Speed Rail – Regional: Relatively frequent service between major and moderate population centers 100–500 miles (160–800 km) apart, with some intermediate stops. Top speeds of 110–150 mph (177–240 km/h), grade-separated, with some dedicated and some shared track (using positive train controlPositive Train ControlPositive train control is a system of monitoring and controlling train movements to provide increased safety.-Overview:The main concept in PTC is that the train receives information about its location and where it is allowed to safely travel, also known as movement authorities...
technology). Intended to relieve highway and, to some extent, air capacity constraints.
- Emerging High-Speed Rail: Developing corridors of 100–500 miles (160–800 km), with strong potential for future HSR Regional and/or Express service. Top speeds of up to 90–110 mph (145–177 km/h) on primarily shared track (eventually using positive train control technology), with advanced grade crossing protection or separation. Intended to develop the passenger rail market, and provide some relief to other modes.
- Conventional Rail: Traditional intercity passenger rail services of more than 100 miles with as little as one to as many as 7–12 daily frequencies; may or may not have strong potential for future high-speed rail service. Top speeds of up to 79 mph to as high as 90 mph generally on shared track. Intended to provide travel options and to develop the passenger rail market for further development in the future.
History
The high-speed interurbans
When it was discovered that a tramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
(trolley or streetcar) could run between two towns, the first interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
was created. During the period 1900-1931, some of USA’s interurbans evolved really high-speed service for its time. However, the interurbans were especially exposed to the competition from cars and buses because they were clogged by the growing car congestions in the streets. In addition, many of them were bought and laid down by the General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
alliance in the Great American streetcar scandal.
Advanced interurban technology
Much of the high-speed rail technology stems from the U.S. interurban scene (in Europe, the interurbans didn’t play the same role)Electrification
History proves that steam, petrol, diesel, and gas turbines were sidings on the way to the modern high-speed rail: Virtually all the world’s high-speed trains today use electric traction because of better efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
, less noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
, and less air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
. Therefore, it was possible to build small high-speed electric railcars, while the fastest steam locomitives were big and heavy. And while Ohio alone had about 4500 km (2,796.2 mi) interurbans in 1916, most conventional railroads preferred steam till they began using diesel in about 1934 – outside the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
and a few commuter railroads, very few of them were ever electrified. The interurban companies also experimented with different current systems and voltages to maximize efficiency and minimize energy waste.
The traction magnate Henry Huntington’s railcar Alabama, made by St. Louis Car Company
St. Louis Car Company
The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887–1973, based in St. Louis, Missouri.-History:...
, was capable of almost 100 mph (44.7 m/s) – in 1905.
Lightweight technology
The interurbans were a decade ahead of the steam railroads in lightweight car construction. Lightweight interurban railcars like the Red Devils
Red Devil (interurban)
The Red Devil was a high-speed interurban trolley . It was developed by the Cincinnati Car Company for the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad , which bought 20 of them in 1929 for service between cities and towns in Ohio. At and long, they were among the first lightweight trolleys, with side...
in Ohio (1929) and the Bullets
Bullet (interurban)
The Bullet was a high-speed interurban railcar produced by J. G. Brill and Company in Philadelphia for the Philadelphia and Western Railroad in 1931, and then the Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad in 1932. Few were sold because of the Great Depression and the public transport decline in...
from J. G. Brill Company in Philadelphia (1931) weighed 22 and 26 tons, respectively, or about ½ ton per seat – and provided their own tractive force. Conventional railroad cars of that time weighed about one ton per seat, and they needed a locomotive of up to 400 tons to haul them. Even the legendary Pioneer Zephyr
Pioneer Zephyr
The Pioneer Zephyr is a diesel-powered railroad train formed of railroad cars permanently articulated together with Jacobs bogies, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , commonly known as the Burlington...
(1934) weighed more than 700 kg (1,543.2 lb) per seat (or about 1.1 tons per seat, but 1/3 of its space was reserved for mail and express goods). With four 100 hp motors, these high-speed interurbans also had at least twice the power-to-weight ratio as the Pioneer Zephyr. Compared to contemporary steam powered express trains, the ratio was at least 4 or 5 to 1 in the interurbans’ favor. Cincinnati Car Company
Cincinnati Car Company
Cincinnati Car Company or Cincinnati Car Corporation was a subsidiary of Ohio Traction Company. It designed and constructed interurban cars, streetcars and buses. It was founded in 1902 in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1928 it bought the Versare Car Company.The company was among the first to make...
, which developed the Red Devils for the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad
Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad
The Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad was a short-lived electric interurban railway that operated in 1930-1939 Depression-era Ohio between Cincinnati, Springfield, Columbus, and Toledo...
(C&LE), also constructed a truck
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
adapted to run on a rough track at up to 90 mph (40 m/s) in commercial service; during a test run it reached almost 100 mph (44.7 m/s). As well, their light weight and low axle loads (11–13 tons compared to 20.5 tons for the Pioneer Zephyr and 29.5–33.5 tons for the 30s’ steam express locomotives) resulted in less wear and tear on the infrastructure.
Wind tunnel research and streamlining
At same speed, air resistance is relatively more important for a railcar at twenty-some tons than for a locomotive at 300+ tons. And J.G.Brill was the first to use wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
research to reduce the air resistance of rail equipment. The Bullets are called "ancestors of the TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
, ICE, Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
, and the Acela Express" (in English, the first Shinkansens were named Bullet Trains, though probably not named after the Bullet interurbans). The appearance of Fliegender Hamburger
DRG Class SVT 877
The DRG Class SVT 877 Hamburg Flyer – sometimes also Flying Hamburger or in German Fliegender Hamburger – was Germany's first fast diesel train, and is credited with establishing the fastest regular railway connection in the world in its time...
(Flying Hamburger), the first German high-speed train in commercial traffic (1933), was even more similar to Brill’s masterpiece.
Infrastructure
Some of the interurbans were also ahead of conventional railroads (at least most of them) in infrastructure construction. In 1907, Philadelphia and Western Railroad
Philadelphia and Western Railroad
The Philadelphia and Western Railroad was a high-speed, third rail-operated, commuter-hauling interurban electric railroad operating in the western suburbs of the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of its lines is now SEPTA's R100 Norristown High Speed Line; the other has been abandoned...
(P&W) opened the Upper Darby-Strafford double-track, third rail-operated line without a single grade crossing with roads or other railroads (an essential requirement for modern HSR), and the maximum grades of 2%, in an exceedingly irregular topography. Their extremely long lives were probably explained by both the infrastructure and high quality of the Brill railcars. While most of the high-speed steams and diesels of the '30s were phased out before 1960, some of the Bullets – and even some beefed-up interurbans from the period 1924–27 – ran till 1990. And while most of the US’ public transport disappeared, the Norristown High Speed Line
Norristown High Speed Line
The Norristown High Speed Line is an interurban line system operated between Upper Darby and Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA by SEPTA...
still serves as an interurban, almost a hundred years after it in 1912 was extended from Strafford to Norristown.
Pioneer Zephyr
Competition between railroads had driven operators to make trains run faster and more efficiently for many years, but 1934 brought some of the biggest jumps in United States history. Fighting to retain customers who began fleeing to automobiles and airplanes after 1920, the Burlington Route's ZephyrPioneer Zephyr
The Pioneer Zephyr is a diesel-powered railroad train formed of railroad cars permanently articulated together with Jacobs bogies, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , commonly known as the Burlington...
and the Union Pacific's M-10000
M-10000
The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10000, delivered to the railroad on February 12, 1934, at a cost of $230,997, was the first internal combustion engine, lightweight streamlined express passenger train in the United States. The carbodies and interior fittings were built by Pullman-Standard...
sought to recapture the public's imagination. They marked the start of a new era of lightweight, streamlined trains, and were a major departure from the conventional, heavyweight beasts of the time. The Zephyr, built especially light due to its underpowered diesel-electric drivetrain, set a speed record of 112.5 miles per hour (50.3 m/s), and averaged 77 mph (34.4 m/s) on the 1015 miles (1,633.5 km) route between Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
and Chicago, Illinois on a special "Dawn-to-Dusk Dash"—speeds that could cut hours off of many intermediate- and long-distance train routes. Following a demonstration run to the Twin Cities, three railroads quickly announced they would drop four hours from their Chicago to Saint Paul schedules, a reduction of 38%.
Steam or diesel?
After the fall of the electric interurbans, the question on the US high-speed rail scene during several decades was: Steam or diesel? The Zephyr calmed to a modest 49 mph (21.9 m/s) in its first revenue service, but other routes picked up the pace. On the 85 miles (136.8 km) Between Chicago and Milwaukee, steam locomotiveSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s still operated, and were averaging 57 mph (25.5 m/s) on that stretch by year's end. Beginning January 2, 1935, the Chicago and North Western 400
Twin Cities 400
The 400 was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway between Chicago and Saint Paul, with a final stop in Minneapolis...
briefly held the spotlight by running 408.6 miles (657.6 km) at 58.4 mph (26.1 m/s) to Saint Paul—led by an upgraded steam engine originally built in 1923 that was pulling heavyweight cars. In April, a new pair of diesel-powered Twin Zephyrs ticked the average speed up to 65.7 mph (29.4 m/s) on their slightly longer route. In testing, the Milwaukee Road's "speedlined", steam-powered Hiawatha
Twin Cities Hiawatha
The Twin Cities Hiawatha was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , and traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. The original train takes its name from the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
cruised at the Zephyrs year-old record speed of 112.5 mph for 14 miles (22.5 km).
New and old technologies crossed paths on railroads across the country, and each had their advantages and disadvantages. Short, articulated trainsets were efficient and eye-catching, but could not be expanded easily and had to be replaced by longer articulated sets or trains with conventional passenger cars. Steam locomotives were much more powerful than the diesels, but needed enormous manpower to operate and maintain. Diesels were fairly clean and simple to run, but needed to be ganged together in multiple-unit operation in order to pull bigger trains. Still, many trains had a style all their own, and the locomotives that hauled them, like the NYC Hudson
NYC Hudson
Hudson was the name given to the 4-6-4 steam locomotive wheel arrangement by the New York Central Railroad which was the first to use locomotives of this type in North America.-History:...
, the Southern Pacific GS-4
Southern Pacific class GS-4
The GS-4 was a streamlined 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive that served the Southern Pacific Company from 1941 to 1958. They were built by the Lima Locomotive Works and were numbered 4430 through 4457...
, and the EMD FT
EMD FT
The EMD FT was a diesel-electric locomotive produced between November 1939, and November 1945, by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division . All told 555 cab-equipped A units were built, along with 541 cabless booster B units, for a grand total of 1,096 units. The locomotives were all sold to...
, became railroading icons.
Improvements to streamliners continued through the rest of the 1930s and into the 1940s. The Hiawatha regularly reached 100 mph (44.7 m/s) in the early years, and easily reached 110 mph (49.2 m/s) after a 1939 upgrade which claimed the locomotive had a "reserve speed" of 125 mph (55.9 m/s). Long-distance services also improved, averaging 70 mph (31.3 m/s) or more on some lines. The original fixed-length streamliners were mostly scrapped during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but not without great influence. In the 1950s, Japan's Odakyu Electric Railway introduced Romancecar
Romancecar
The is Odakyu Electric Railway's name for its limited express luxury tourist services south-west of Tokyo, to mountain resorts such as Gotenba and Hakone, and beaches such as Numazu and Enoshima. Service started in 1957 with the 3000 series SE trainset, it broke the world speed record for a...
service, which was largely patterned after the Zephyr and later Electroliner
Electroliner
The Electroliners were a pair of electric passenger train sets operated by the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, which ran between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These streamlined electric multiple unit interurban trains were built by St. Louis Car Company in 1941. Each...
. It was the Romancecar, operating at 90 mph (40.2 m/s) on the Japanese narrow-gauge network, which proved the viability of even-faster standard gauge trains, leading Japan to inaugurate the modern high-speed rail era with the Tokaido Shinkansen in 1964.
Streamliners in the US were significantly set back by 1940s and 1950s Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
rules which required enhanced safety features for all trains traveling above a 79mph (126 km/h) limit. Since the infrastructure required for cab signaling, automatic train stop
Automatic Train Stop
An automatic train stop is a system on a train that will automatically stop a train if certain situations happened to prevent accidents from happening....
and other enhancements was uneconomical in the sparsely-populated American West, this rule effectively killed further development of high speed rail outside the Northeast, where the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and others had installed cab signaling beginning in the 1930s. No other English-speaking country adopted this rule, and while the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia all operate trains at 100 mph (44.7 m/s) or higher using conventional lineside signaling, few trains in the United States operate above 79 mph (35.3 m/s) outside the Northeast Corridor. One exception that survives today is Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's Southwest Chief
Southwest Chief
The Southwest Chief is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 2256-mile BNSF route through the Midwestern and Southwestern United States. It runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California, passing through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California...
, which travels up to 90 miles per hour (144.8 km/h) along various stretches of its Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
–Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
route.
Federal involvement
Japan opened its first line of the Shinkansen network in 1964, running its 0 Series0 Series Shinkansen
The trains were the first Shinkansen trainsets built to run on Japan's new Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line which opened in 1964. The last remaining trainsets were withdrawn in 2008.-History:...
"bullet trains" at a top speed of 130 miles per hour (58.1 m/s)—a speed that was soon improved. The United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
responded by passing the High Speed Ground Transportation Act a year later, which led the US DOT
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
to partner with the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and several industrial manufacturers to develop the Metroliner service, which was capable of traveling at 160 mph (71.5 m/s). Pennsylvania-operated Metroliners were short-lived, however, as just two years later Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
was formed to take over the nation's passenger rail system from the freight operators.
U.S. federal and state governments continued to revisit the idea of fast trains as time went by. The Passenger Railroad Rebuilding Act of 1980 led to funding of high-speed corridor studies in 1984. Private-sector consortia intending to build high-speed lines were created in Florida, Ohio, Texas, California, and Nevada. Maglev train
Maglev train
Maglev , is a system of transportation that uses magnetic levitation to suspend, guide and propel vehicles from magnets rather than using mechanical methods, such as friction-reliant wheels, axles and bearings...
s became a new field of interest. They were officially added to the definition of "railroad" in 1988, and were studied repeatedly. Five high-speed corridors were officially endorsed in October 1992 following passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
TEA-21
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century was enacted June 9, 1998, as Public Law 105-178. TEA-21 authorized the Federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit for the 6-year period 1998-2003...
and other legislation continued to be passed with mentions of high-speed rail, but lacking funding or real direction.
While Japan continuously improved its Shinkansen network, going from an initial top speed of 130 mph to having many services which operate at 186 mph (300 km/h) today, Amtrak consistently slowed down the Metroliner service, and the Metroliner-based Amfleet
Amfleet
Amfleet is a series of intercity railroad passenger cars built for the operator Amtrak by the manufacturer Budd Company in two series during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Today, Amfleet cars are used extensively throughout the Amtrak system outside the western United States...
passenger car became the mainstay of intermediate-haul Amtrak services. Increasing airport congestion led to a renewed interest in high-speed rail, and in 2001 the Acela Express
Acela Express
The Acela Express is Amtrak's high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York...
was inaugurated.
Acela Express and recent high-speed interest
TiltingTilting train
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest due to...
technology allows Acelas to negotiate tight curves on the New York to Boston route while maintaining relatively fast speeds. While the trains themselves are capable of 150 mph (67.1 m/s), improvements to the track have proceeded in a piecemeal manner, and actual speeds are significantly slower. Presently the New York–Washington segment (formerly PRR
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
) is the faster of the two, and only a small portion of the line allows 135 mph (60.4 m/s) running. The New York–Boston segment contains extensive segments with speeds as low as 90 mph (40.2 m/s); consequently, most of the recent improvements have focused on this corridor, thus the 150 mph (67.1 m/s) segment is also found here.
Acela travel time between Washington and New York is 2 hours and 53 minutes (compared to 2 hours and 30 minutes for PRR
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's nonstop Metroliner in 1969), or an average speed of 79 mph (130 km/h). Schedule between New York and Boston is 3 hours 34 minutes, an average speed of only 63 mph (80 km/h). With a 15-minute layover in New York, the entire end-to-end trip averages 68 mph (110 km/h).
In recent years high jet fuel prices, congested airports and highways, and increasing airport security rules regarding liquids and electronics that force most travelers to check baggage have all combined to make high-speed rail options more attractive. A study conducted by the International Union of Railways indicated that high-speed trains produce five times less CO2 than automobiles and jet aircraft. Most high-speed rail
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
systems use electricity for power, so they lessen dependence on petroleum and can be powered by renewable energy sources, or by nuclear power such as in Japan and France. There has been a resurgence of interest in recent decades, with many plans being examined for high-speed rail across the country, but current service remains relatively limited.
Current federal efforts
In February 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Congress allocated $8 billion to be granted to states for intercity rail projects, with "priority to projects that support the development of intercity high speed rail service."Strategic plan
United States Secretary of Transportation
The United States Secretary of Transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation, a member of the President's Cabinet, and fourteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Transportation on October 15, 1966,...
—as well as the existing Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
. The ten designated high-speed corridors, together with the major cities served by each, are:
- Southeast Corridor—Washington, RichmondRichmondRichmond often refers to:*Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia*Richmond, North Yorkshire, the original Richmond in Yorkshire.*Richmond, London, previously Richmond, Surrey*Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Metro Vancouver...
, Newport News, Norfolk, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Columbia, Jacksonville - California Corridor—Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas
- Pacific Northwest CorridorPacific Northwest CorridorThe Pacific Northwest Corridor or the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor is one of eleven federally designated high-speed rail corridors in the United States. The corridor extends from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia via Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington...
—Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver - South Central CorridorSouth Central CorridorThe South Central Corridor is one of ten federally-designated high-speed rail corridors in the United States. The proposed corridor consists of two segments:* Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Fort Worth, Texas...
—Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Texarkana, and Little Rock - Gulf Coast CorridorGulf Coast CorridorThe Gulf Coast Corridor is one of ten federally-designated high-speed rail corridors in the United States. The proposed corridor consists of three segments, each of which would carry trains capable of traveling at speeds of up to 110 mph:...
—Houston, New Orleans, Mobile - Chicago Hub Network—Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul
- Florida Corridor—Tampa, Orlando, Miami
- Keystone CorridorKeystone CorridorThe Keystone Corridor is a Federal Railroad Administration "designated high speed corridor" with a 349-mile railroad line between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a top speed of...
—Pittsburgh, Philadelphia - Empire CorridorEmpire CorridorThe Empire Corridor is a term used to refer to the approximately corridor between Niagara Falls and New York City, including the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady and Albany. The Empire Service and Maple Leaf serve the entire length of this corridor, and the Maple Leaf...
—Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady and Albany - Northern New England CorridorNorthern New England CorridorThe Northern New England Corridor is one of ten Federally designated high-speed rail corridors in the United States. If the 489-mile corridor were completed as proposed, 110-mph passenger trains would travel from Boston, Massachusetts, to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 4 hours and 31 minutes, and...
—Boston, Portland/Auburn, Montreal, Springfield, New Haven
In addition to the $8 billion provided by ARRA, the plan forecasts five years' worth of $1 billion annual budget requests to be used to "jump-start a potential world-class passenger rail system."
Interim guidance
On June 17, 2009, the FRA issued interim guidance to applicants covering grant terms, conditions, and procedures until final regulations are issued. Under its criteria, the FRA evaluates grant proposals for their ability to make trips quicker and more convenient, reduce congestion on highways and at airports, and meet other environmental, energy, and safety goals.American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 grants
The FRA received grant applications from states for stimulus fundsAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
and FY 2009 intercity capital funds in August and October 2009 Over $57 Billion in requests were filed from 34 states. An announcement of which states received these funds was made on January 28, 2010, with 31 states and 13 rail corridors receiving funding.
| Corridor | Grant received (in millions $) |
|---|---|
| Chicago Hub/Ohio Hub | 2617 |
| California | 2343 |
| Florida | 1250 |
| Southeast | 620 |
| Pacific Northwest | 598 |
| Northern New England | 160 |
| Empire | 152 |
| Northeast | 112 |
| Keystone | 27 |
The five areas receiving the most funding had originally been designated as high-speed rail corridors in October 1992 following passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
Objection to high-speed rail spending
When Republicans gave a response to President Obama’s speech to Congress in February 2009, Governor Bobby JindalBobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
of Louisiana criticized the money as wasteful spending.
Some organizations, such as the Koch-funded, conservative Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, have taken a strong stance against governmental spending on high speed trains. They claim that the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
is used by more people and pays for itself (in the form of tolls and the gasoline tax), while high speed trains would cost the government more money, as ridership fees would not pay for the maintenance of the train, even if the government covered the cost of building the train. They also believe that many people will pay for a service only a few will use.
Fiscal Year 2010 allocation
Congress allocated $2.5 billion in the FY 2010 budget and these funds were allocated on October 28, 2010. Major allocations are listed below.| Corridor | Grant received (in millions $) |
|---|---|
| California | 898 |
| Florida | 800 |
| Chicago Hub | 428 |
| Connecticut | 121 |
| Southeast | 45 |
Amtrak initiative
On March 22, 2010, Amtrak announced it had created a dedicated department to pursue the development of high-speed rail. The initial focus of the department will be on the Northeast CorridorNortheast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
(Washington–New York–Boston) with an emphasis on increasing frequency and reducing journey times. The department will also examine the feasibility of raising the maximum speed limit in the aforementioned alignment from 150 mph to 220 mph. The department will also look at the possibilities of collaboration with other state and private initiatives, such as in California or Florida.
Cancellation of funds for Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida
On December 10, 2010, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $1.2 billion in grants for Wisconsin and Ohio would be removed, and redirected to other states. This was due to opposition from governors-elect in both states, Scott WalkerScott Walker (politician)
Scott Kevin Walker is an American Republican politician who began serving as the 45th Governor of Wisconsin on January 3, 2011, after defeating Democratic candidate Tom Barrett, 52 percent to 47 percent in the November 2010 general election...
of Wisconsin and John Kasich
John Kasich
John Richard Kasich is the 69th and current Governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1983 to 2001...
of Ohio. From the redirected funds, California received $624 million, Florida $342 million, Washington $161 million, and Illinois $42 million.
On February 16, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott formally announced that he would be rejecting all federal funds to construct a high-speed railway project in the state, thereby killing the Florida High Speed Rail project. Governor Scott's reasoning behind cancelling the project was that it would be "too costly to taxpayers" and that "the risk far outweigh[ed] the benefits". Those funds were once again redistributed to other states.
Public opinion on federal efforts
According to a poll released on April 6, 2010, just under half of Americans are in favor of the proposed plan laid out in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Grants, while just above a quarter are opposed and the remainder are unsure. When shown a map of the proposed high speed lines, 32% of the participants said they would rather take a high speed train than fly, drive, or take the bus (which would put high-speed rail a few percentage points behind driving but well ahead of flying and taking the bus). Republicans and Independents who took part in the poll were more likely to state that they would rather drive (40% of Republicans and 38% of Independents), while 44% of Democrats stated they would use the proposed high speed rail system (making it the most popular choice among Democrats). Among Republicans, high-speed rail was competitive with air travel (24% to 24%), while high-speed rail was preferred to air travel among both Independents and Democrats.2011 proposal
In February 2011, Vice President Biden proposed investing $53 billion in improved passenger rail service over six years. The plan drew fire from majority Republicans in the House of Representatives, who preferred private investment rather than government investment.Northeast Corridor: Next Generation High-Speed Rail
AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
officials released a concept report for next-generation high-speed rail within the Northeast corridor on October 1, 2010. The concept report envisions 220 mph trains running on dedicated tracks between Washington, DC, and Boston, Massachusetts. The report suggests the preferred alignment will closely follow the existing Northeast Corridor south of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A number of different alignments will be studied north of New York City, including one through interior Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
paralleling Interstates 684
Interstate 684
Interstate 684 is a 28.4 mile-long north–south Interstate Highway in the states of New York and Connecticut. The highway connects I-84 with I-287 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, primarily serving commuter traffic to and from the northern suburbs of the New York metropolitan area...
, 84
Interstate 84 (east)
Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
, and 90
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...
(via Danbury
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
, Waterbury
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, and Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
), one following the existing shoreline route (paralleling Interstate 95
Connecticut Turnpike
The Connecticut Turnpike, known now as the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike, is a freeway in Connecticut that runs from Greenwich to Killingly. It is signed as Interstate 95 from the New York state line at Greenwich to East Lyme, and then as Interstate 395 from East Lyme to Plainfield...
), and one via Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
(requiring a bridge or tunnel
Long Island Sound link
The Long Island Sound link is a proposed bridge or tunnel that would link Long Island to the south with New York or Connecticut to the north across Long Island Sound. The most recent proposal involves a tunnel between Rye, New York on the mainland and Oyster Bay on the island...
across Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
to Connecticut). Amtrak has projected planning and construction of the next generation high speed Northeast Corridor line will cost approximately $117 billion (2010 dollars) and reduce the travel time from New York to Washington, including a stop in Philadelphia, to 96 minutes, and the travel time from Boston to New York to 84 minutes. In February 2011 Amtrak announced plans for the Gateway Project
Gateway Project
The Gateway Project is a proposed American rail expansion project to build a high-speed rail right-of-way and to alleviate the bottleneck along the Northeast Corridor between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City...
between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station.
California
CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
Proposition 1A, passed in November 2008, authorizes the state to issue $9.95 billion in bonds to fund the first phase of a planned multi-phase high-speed rail network. Steel-wheel on rail technology is the adopted mode. Los Angeles to San Francisco, via California's Central Valley, will be the first phase of the network. The California High-Speed Rail Authority is the lead agency charged with planning and implementing the system. When the network is built, high-speed trains will be able to travel across California at speeds of up to 220 mph (350 km/h), potentially linking San Francisco and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in as little as two hours and thirty-eight minutes. The state has been awarded 2.35 billion dollars in funding from the U.S.
Colorado/New Mexico
The Rocky Mountain Rail Authority is in the process of a high speed rail feasibility study. Primary corridors being studied are the Interstate 70Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
corridor from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Eagle Airport (EGE) in Eagle County near Vail, and the Interstate 25
Interstate 25
Interstate 25 is an Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway. I-25 stretches from Interstate 10 at Las Cruces, New Mexico, , to Interstate 90 in Buffalo, Wyoming, .Interstate 25 is the main north–south expressway through...
corridor from the Wyoming border to the New Mexico border. These corridors however, are not defined as high speed rail corridors by the FRA.
On July 9, 2009 the governors of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas announced plans to jointly seek federal designation of a high-speed rail corridor linking Denver, Albuquerque, and El Paso and request up to $5 million in federal funding for a feasibility study.
Florida
Development of a high-speed rail system in Florida was mandated by a constitutional referendum in 2000, but taken off the books by another referendum in 2004. However, Florida resurrected its high speed rail authority to capitalize on the nationwide effort to build a high speed rail network. Florida legislature approved Sunrail in a special session in late 2009, which along with work already completed on the originally proposed line between Tampa and Orlando, was instrumental in the state winning a significant amount of the total amount allotted to high speed rail. Only California received more high speed rail funding than Florida. In February 2011, Florida's newly elected governor chose to cancel the project. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood then announced he would be redirecting the funds intended for Florida to other states.New York State
New York State has been actively discussing high-speed rail service since the 1990s, but thus far little progress has been made. Amtrak Acela service between Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and Boston, Massachusetts, is available to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but the cities in Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
and Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
remain isolated from high-speed rail service. Further, destinations outside the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
have been plagued by delayed service for decades. Nonetheless, New York has been quietly endorsing and even implementing rail improvements for years.
Closer and faster railroad transportation links between New York City and the rest of the state are frequently cited as a partial solution to Upstate's stagnant economic growth.
Ohio
The Ohio HubOhio Hub
The Ohio Hub is a high-speed railway project proposed by the Ohio Department of Transportation aimed at revitalizing passenger rail service in the Ohio region. Upon completion, the transit system will be composed of of track serving 32 stations. It will connect four states along with southern...
is a project created by the Ohio Department of Transportation
Ohio Department of Transportation
The Ohio Department of Transportation is the organization of state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the state of Ohio with exception of the Ohio Turnpike. In addition to highways, the department also helps develop public transportation and...
that is intended to connect Ohio with four other states, as well as Canada, by a passenger rail network. The main proposal is a four-corridor system based in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
with branches terminating in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. Both a 79 mph (126 km/h) and 110 mph (176 km/h) high-speed rail network have been proposed, costing a total $2.7 billion and $3.32 billion, respectively.
Pennsylvania
The Keystone CorridorKeystone Corridor
The Keystone Corridor is a Federal Railroad Administration "designated high speed corridor" with a 349-mile railroad line between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a top speed of...
is a 349 mile (562 km) rail line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, composed of two different segments. Between Philadelphia and Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, the line, which is owned by Amtrak, is fully electrified and almost completely grade separated. Between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, the line is owned by Norfolk Southern, and is heavily used for freight transportation, with mountainous terrain. In 1999, the Keystone Corridor was formally recognized as a "designated high speed corridor" by the Federal Railroad Administration. The Keystone Corridor was upgraded in 2006 with two segments of 110 mph (176 km/h) operation between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, with express service taking 90 minutes over 103.6 miles (165.8 kilometres), which is the fastest average speed outside the North East Corridor. While the infrastructure already exists for high-speed rail between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, substantial infrastructure improvements would be necessary to provide high-speed rail between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Currently, one train per day runs on the segment west of Harrisburg.
Illinois and the Midwest
The Midwest Regional Rail InitiativeMidwest Regional Rail Initiative
The Chicago Hub Network is a collection of proposed fast conventional and high-speed rail lines in the Midwestern United States including of track. Since the 1990s, there have been multiple proposals to improve the links from Chicago, Illinois to major destinations including Indianapolis, Indiana,...
or Midwest Regional Rail System (MRRI, MWRRI, or MWRRS) is a plan to implement a 220 mph (354 km/h) (on some key corridors) to 110 mph (177 km/h) passenger rail network in the Midwestern United States, using Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
as a hub and including 3000 miles (4,828 km) of track. Primary routes would stretch across Illinois, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, possibly reaching Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Secondary routes would operate at a somewhat slower speed across Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, just touching Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and nearly reaching Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Existing Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
routes would probably be upgraded as part of this plan, which has been in development since 1996. Michigan has begun upgrading track and signals, already resulting in increased service speeds for Amtrak's Wolverine
Michigan Services
Michigan Services is an umbrella term used by Amtrak to describe passenger rail service by three routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with the Michigan cities of Grand Rapids, Port Huron, and Detroit, and other stations along the three lines...
service. However, similar efforts in Illinois have met with considerable technical difficulties.
Construction on a high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis is taking place. Illinois has been one of the most aggressive at pursuing highspeed rail, getting $1.1 billion in 2010. Governor Quinn told says that "we want to make this corridor the pre-eminent one in America". The Chicago-St.Louis rail line is being upgraded to include speeds of over 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h). Plans have been such that they originated from the southern part of the state going up north. The first installment of funds provided for construction between Alton and Lincoln. In March 2011, the next installment of funds ($685 million) provided for another section to go from Lincoln to Dwight. In May 2011, some $186 million additional got allocated, allowing for further construction between Dwight and Joliet. Plans called for eventually investing in true high-speed travel that would boost train speeds to 220 mph (354 km/h).
In June 2011, Governor Quinn of Illinois approved a 1.25 million dollar study on implementing 220mph service between Chicago and Champaign-Urbana. If implemented it would be the fastest train in the United States. The train may also go as far as Rockford, on tracks along Interstate 90.
Michigan had received more than $161 million for high-speed rail and $40 million for Amtrak stations in Troy, Battle Creek and Dearborn. On May 9, 2011, the state received $196.5 million to help retrofit a 135 miles (217 km) section of the Kalamazoo-to-Dearborn track for high-speed rail service. The work should wrap up by the end of 2013 and cut the travel time between Detroit and Chicago by 30 minutes from the current 5 hours and 45 minutes.
About 30 miles (48.3 km) of the Chicago-Detroit route passes through northwestern Indiana along Lake Michigan's south shore. In early 2010 the federal government authorized some $71.4 million for this project.
The Southeast
The Southeast High Speed Rail CorridorSoutheast High Speed Rail Corridor
The Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor is a passenger rail transportation project in the United States to extend high speed passenger rail services from Washington, DC south through Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia through Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina and connect with the existing...
is a passenger rail transportation project to extend high speed passenger rail services from Washington, DC south through Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
and Petersburg
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
through Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
and Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and connect with the existing high speed rail corridor from DC to Boston, Massachusetts known as the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
. Since first established in 1992, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has since extended the corridor to Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
; Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
; Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
; Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
; and Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
.
Incremental improvements to existing rail lines have been taking place while the environmental impact study required under the National Environmental Policy Act
National Environmental Policy Act
The National Environmental Policy Act is a United States environmental law that established a U.S. national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President's Council on Environmental Quality ....
is being completed. The two-tiered EIS began in 1999, and completion is expected in 2011, with passenger service expected by 2015 to 2020, depending upon funding availability.
Texas
In 1991 the Texas High Speed Rail Authority awarded a 50-year high speed rail franchise to the Texas TGV Corporation - a consortium of Morrison Knudsen (USA), BombardierBombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
(Canada), Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
(France/UK), Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais
Crédit Lyonnais is a historic French bank. In the early 1990s it was the largest French bank, majority state-owned at that point. Crédit Lyonnais was the subject of poor management during that period which almost led to its bankruptcy in 1993...
(France), Banque IndoSuez (France), Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
(USA), and others. Texas TGV won the franchise after more than two years of litigation instigated by a rival consortium backing German ICE
InterCityExpress
The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...
technology.
The plan was to connect the "Texas Triangle" (Houston - Dallas/Fort Worth - San Antonio) with a privately financed high speed train system which would quickly take passengers from one city to the next at prices designed to compete with or beat other transport options. This was the same model Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
used 20 years earlier to break in to the Texas market where it served the same three cities.
Funding for the project was to come entirely from private sources, since Texas did not allow the use of public money. The original estimated cost was $5.6 billion, but the task of securing the necessary private funds proved extremely difficult.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
, with the help of lobbyists, created legal barriers to prohibit the consortium from moving forward and the entire project was eventually scuttled in 1994, when the State of Texas withdrew the franchise.
A more recent proposal for high-speed rail in Texas is part of a larger proposed, state-wide super-infrastructure, the Trans-Texas Corridor
Trans-Texas Corridor
The Trans-Texas Corridor was a transportation network that was discontinued in the planning and early construction stages in the U.S. State of Texas. The network, as originally envisioned, would have been composed of a network of supercorridors up to wide to carry parallel links of tollways,...
.
In 2002, the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation (THSRTC), a grass roots organization dedicated to bringing high speed rail to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
was established. In 2006, American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
and Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
formally joined THSRTC, in an effort to bring high speed rail to Texas as a passenger collector system for the airlines. The Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation developed the Texas T-Bone and Brazos Express corridors to link Central Texas.
The Southwest
The cities of Denver, Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Reno
Reno
Reno is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, US.Reno may also refer to:-Places:Italy*The Reno River, in Northern ItalyCanada*Reno No...
, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and Salt Lake City have recently formed the Western High Speed Rail Alliance, which is slated to spend $11 million over three years to study the feasibility of building railway links between the major cities of the southwestern United States, as well as linking to the California high-speed corridor via Las Vegas. All four states represented are in the top ten fastest growing states, with Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
topping the list. New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
is considering joining in order to include Albuquerque and Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
in the network by upgrading and extending its recently-completed Rail Runner Express. Major obstacles to high speed rail in the region include highly competitive airline fares, rugged geography, and funding. Critics argue that high-speed rail works best in densely populated regions (such as the various large cities of the East Coast and the eastern Midwestern United States), and will not be feasible in the sparsely populated West
The Northwest
On January 27, 2010 the federal government announced it would be awarding $590 Million of ARRA Stimulus funds to Washington State for infrastructure improvement.This will be used to build high speed trains connecting the Pacific Northwest Corridor between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC going through Portland and Seattle.
See also
- High-speed railHigh-speed railHigh-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
- US High Speed Rail Association
- Maglev train proposals in the United States
- Speed limits in the United States (rail)Speed limits in the United States (rail)Rail speed limits in the United States are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Railroads also implement their own limits and enforce speed limits. Speed restrictions are based on a number of factors including curvature, signaling, track condition, the physical condition of a train,...
- TurbolinerTurbolinerThe Amtrak Turboliners are gas turbine trainsets built for Amtrak. The trains were powered by gas turbine engines and ran on diesel fuel. Some were equipped with third rail shoes to enable entry into the underground tunnels approaching Grand Central Terminal and New York Penn Station in New York...
- UAC TurboTrain
External links
- High-Speed Rail section of the FRA website
- US High Speed Rail Association Official Site
- Florida High Speed Rail Official Site
- American High Speed Rail Alliance A nonprofit organization dedicated to unify all advocacy efforts that promote national high speed and intercity passenger rail corridors
- Map of the Midwestern Regional Rail Initiative Proposal
- Virginians for High Speed Rail Official Site
- California High Speed Rail Official Site
- Google Earth Forum KML map
- High Speed Rail USA Official Site