What is needed for high-speed rail?

Bringing high-speed rail to North America will require building new high-speed lines that can accommodate frequent 200+ mph service. These new high-speed segments connect to and enhance our existing rail network. Modern trains can travel seamlessly from conventional track to high-speed track.



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Generally, a rough estimate for a high-speed railway line is around 30,000 to 60,000 tons of steel per km.

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With the right commercial strategy, high-speed rail (HSR) routes can be profitable, with some lines achieving modal shares of up to 65%. When considering route strategy, HSR's market share versus other modes must be well understood.

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This investment has spurred economic benefits around California and across the country. Investment in high-speed rail is supporting jobs, labor income and economic output across a number of California's regions, including some of those hardest hit by the Great Recession.

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HSR is surprisingly fast and can provide high capacity with low operating costs, yet its high infrastructure costs and frequent budget overruns outweigh its advantages. Air travel remains more time-efficient for many US trips and requires far less infrastructure.

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Thus, during their long construction phases, high-speed rail projects add greenhouse gases. Adding lanes to existing highways also generates greenhouse gases, but to the extent that recycled asphalt is used for road paving climate impacts can be somewhat reduced.

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High-speed rail is generally regarded as the pinnacle of attractive and green transportation. But all too often, it makes train travel more expensive and less flexible. In the end, costly high-speed lines may just push more people into cars.

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High speed trains run on electricity instead of diesel fuel. Because much of the world's electricity is still generated at fossil fuel burning power plants, high speed trains do contribute to carbon emissions, however the climate impact of one train is significantly less than that of many personal vehicles.

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While the US was a passenger train pioneer in the 19th century, after WWII, railways began to decline. The auto industry was booming, and Americans bought cars and houses in suburbs without rail connections. Highways (as well as aviation) became the focus of infrastructure spending, at the expense of rail.

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For China's ruling Communist Party and its leader Xi Jinping, high-speed rail is also a powerful tool for social cohesion, political influence and the integration of disparate regions with distinct cultures into the mainstream.

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The California HSR, for example, will remove 12 billion pounds of carbon dioxide per year by 2030 because it uses electricity generated from wind, solar, and other renewable resources. In addition, California's HSR will save 12.7 million barrels of oil by 2030.

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the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program, which was launched in 2009. California's high-speed rail project received federal funding through the HSIPR program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, ...

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A lot cheaper. That high-speed train ticket would cost about $75, compared to more than $200 to fly or drive. Ready to ride?

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Funding for California high-speed rail has come from the legislative appropriation of state special funds and from federal competitive grants. No funding comes from traditional state sources, such as the gas taxes or general fund dollars.

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