Features | USA High-Speed Rail Future

President Barack Obama has revealed an ambitious plan to accelerate the development of U.S. high-speed rail (HSR) transportation. Designed to fast-track ten regional high-speed corridors already being planned by States, the plan targets upgrades to existing rail lines as well as new rail lines devoted to 150-250 mph/240-400 km/h trains. The plan is also expected to hasten improvements to the country's only existing high-speed corridor.

High-speed passenger trains are a green alternative for the USA's transportation future. Noting that "high-speed rail is long-overdue," President Obama characterized HSR as a clean, energy-efficient travel option that will generate both construction jobs and permanent rail jobs. When completed, the high-speed corridors will increase economic activity in destination communities and reduce dependence on high polluting highway and air transportation.

Corridors being eyed for HSR development extend from the Pacific Northwest to a Chicago/Midwest hub to multiple projects across the Southeast. Current Acela high-speed service between Boston and Washington D.C. will be enhanced and connecting rail lines will be upgraded. All told, over 30 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian gateways will benefit from new or improved high-speed transportation by rail.

Jump-start funding the ten HSR corridors is already approved with over $8 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The federal budget is anticipated to provide an additional $1 billion a year for five years. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is expected to begin awarding start-up grants by late summer 2009.

The ten designated high-speed rail (HSR) corridors are:

Improvements will bring faster rail transportation to three existing Golden State lines. HSR designated routes include San Joaquin, linking the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento to Bakersfield via Merced; Capitol Corridor, linking the Bay Area to Sacramento and Auburn; and Pacific Surfliner, linking San Luis Obispo to San Diego via Los Angeles.

The present-day 466 mi/750 km Cascades Route has been designated for HSR upgrade. Service extends from Eugene and Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) via Tacoma and Seattle, Washington.

From Fort Worth, HSR will operate in three directions. Currently running north to Oklahoma City, an upgraded Heartland Flyer route will extend to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Improvements to a segment of the long-distance Texas Eagle route will enable faster travel east, via Dallas, to Little Rock, Arkansas and south to Austin and San Antonio, Texas.

New Orleans is the designated hub for HSR service along the Gulf. Fast trains will run east to Houston, Texas and west to Mobile, Alabama along a revamped stretch of the existing Sunset Limited route. A third northbound service will head inland to Atlanta, Georgia via Birmingham, Alabama.

A series of HSR routes are to radiate from the Windy City. To the east, the Lakeshore Limited line will be upgraded to Cleveland, Ohio; likewise Wolverine service to Detroit, Michigan. A revamped south/east-bound Hoosier State/Cardinal line will connect to Cincinnati, Ohio via Indianapolis, Indiana. New Ohio service linking Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland and a new spur to Louisville, Kentucky are also planned. Westbound Lincoln and Missouri River Runner routes will be merged into a seamless high-speed link to Kansas City via St. Louis, Missouri. Improvements to the north/west-bound Hiawatha/Empire Builder line will speed connections to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Minnesota's Twin Cities.

HSR will link the Sunshine State's top tourist destinations. Upgrades to the southernmost segment of the Silver Meteor/Silver Star line will shorten travel times between Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Blanketing the South Atlantic States, HSR will extend from the nation's capital to the Sunshine State. Upgrade targets include Carolinian/Piedmont services connecting Washington D.C., Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina with Charlotte.

Cross-state HSR service will connect Pennsylvanians with their State Capital and two largest cities. An improved Keystone/Pennsylvanian line will facilitate rapid connections between Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

The 462 mi/744 km line that stretches up the Hudson Valley and across the spine of New York is slated for HSR augmentation. Virtually the entire length of the existing Empire Service corridor will be impacted, from the Big Apple to Buffalo via Albany, Syracuse and Rochester.

Beantown is the hub of a a proposed HSR network that will extend into every New England state and beyond. Speed-enhanced Northeaster service will cross New Hampshire and Maine as far as Portland. A new line to Montreal, Quebec (Canada) will serve Nashua, Manchester, Concord and West Lebanon, New Hampshire as well as White River Junction, Montpelier, Burlington, and St. Albans, Vermont. The easternmost segment of the Lakeshore Limited will be upgraded as far as Albany, New York, via Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts. The existing line connecting Springfield with Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut will also be improved.