As a lifelong train enthusiast, I have been a big believer of passenger rail. Passenger rail has many benefits over driving and flying yet we have not made any significant progress in improving our passenger rail infrastructure in a very long time . Meanwhile, European and Asian countries have invested heavily in major passenger rail projects including High Speed 1 (HS1), a high speed rail line used by the Eurostar service that runs between London and Paris; Intercity Express (ICE), a German high speed rail service that serves many European countries; and The Shinkansen, a Japanese network of high speed rail lines.
Although many major passenger rail projects have been proposed over the years, very few have gotten off the ground and even fewer have been completed. This is due to our federal government being hesitant in not only investing in passenger rail projects but most other infrastructure projects as well, yet they have and will continue to spend TRILLIONS in taxpayer dollars to continue the endless wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe without any hesitation. It is time to stop throwing our taxpayer dollars in the endless pit that is war and to start using that money to fix our aging infrastructure which includes making big investments in passenger rail.
In order to modernize our passenger rail network to the standards in Europe and Asia, we need to focus on the following:
- NORTHEAST CORRIDOR
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is the nation’s most important passenger rail line as it connects the cities of Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. It is currently the only rail line in the U.S. that is capable of reaching speeds of 150 miles per hour and beyond via Amtrak’s Acela Express. However, the infrastructure on the NEC segment between Washington D.C. and New York is over 100 years old and has experienced a plethora of issues in recent years. I believe that the modernization of the NEC should be the #1 priority of this plan which would include replacing old catenaries, bridges, and tunnels; straightening curves and adding track where needed to increase average and top speeds; and increasing train frequency with better scheduling to meet demand after the upgrades are completed. The goal of modernizing the NEC is to increase the reliability of high-speed, regional, and local trains that run on the line and decrease travel times. Although there are projects have been completed or underway that focus on the main issues with the NEC, progress has been slow due to a lack of funding and government efficiency. This needs to be addressed in order to expedite the desperately needed modernization of the NEC.
- CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL
The California High-Speed Rail project is the largest ongoing passenger rail project in the country and once completed, it will provide high-speed rail connections to the largest cities in the state of California. However, progress has been slow due to funding issues, project mismanagement, and public opposition. Despite these issues, I believe that this project should be a big priority as part of this plan especially with the 2028 Summer Olympics being less than four years away. In order to complete this project, more funding needs to be provided to the project and audits of the project need to be done more often to ensure that the project can be finished as quickly and efficiently as possible. Any changes that can be made to lower the cost and/or speed up the completion of the project should also be considered.
- NEW HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECTS
There have been many proposals for true high-speed rail lines in the U.S. but only two have been approved for construction. These include the aforementioned California High-Speed Rail Authority and Brightline West, a privately operated high-speed line that will run between Las Vegas, NV and Rancho Cucamonga, CA, which will start construction at the start of next year and is scheduled to be completed by 2028. The completion of new high-speed rail corridors will be a big priority as part of this plan and in order to get these projects off the ground, the American High-Speed Rail Act needs to be passed to secure funding for these projects but with a few changes. To receive funding, these projects need to meet international high-speed rail standards in order to be classified as a high-speed rail projects. Public-private partnerships similar to Brightline are also an option. Audits should be done regularly to ensure that these projects are fully utilizing the funds provided to them and can be finished as quickly and efficiently as possible. To keep the cost of these projects down, these projects should utilize operational and abandoned railroad right-of-ways; Interstate, U.S., and State Highway right-of-ways; greenfield and brownfield land; and possibly federal land.
- OTHER PASSENGER RAIL PROJECTS
Although high-speed rail should be the biggest priority of this plan, the modernization and expansion of existing passenger rail services and proposals for new conventional rail services should also be supported either through the American High-Speed Rail Act or separate legislation. This would include purchasing new or refurbishing existing rolling stock, eliminating bottlenecks, extending existing services or creating new services to provide passenger rail service to new markets, and infrastructure upgrades such as grade separation and electrification.
- GOALS OF THIS PLAN
The goals of this plan are to provide modern and reliable passenger rail services that match the standards in Europe and Asia, reduce our reliance of driving and flying, and change the way we commute and travel across the country. Commuters and travelers will be able to travel in comfort with amenities most domestic flights cannot match. High-Speed Rail will provide fast, reliable services between U.S. cities without having to deal with traffic, driving long-distances, expensive air fares, or TSA. Whether you are commuting to and from work or going on a vacation, modernized passenger rail services will provide a better experience than driving while at a lower cost than flying. It is time to Make American Trains Great Again!