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<title> High-Speed Rail: Let's Build it Now!</title>
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<h1>High-Speed Rail in America: Let's Build it Now!</h1>
<p> Updated September 8, 1999</p>
<pre><i>"We keep kidding ourselves into thinking
we have the number-one transportation
system in the world. Well that's a joke!"</i>
--Robert Kiley, former Chairman
Chicago Metropolitan Transportation Authority</pre>
<p><b>Note: This page and its title are in response to Governor Bush's <a href="http://cnn.com:80/US/9901/14/BC-RAILROADS-TRAIN.reut/index.html">cancellation of the Florida FOX high-speed rail project</a>. I do not intend to suggest that high-speed trains alone are the remedy for the sorry state of our transportation in all its ugly manifestations. I only wish to show the need for reasonably balanced transportation. In stopping Florida DOT's project of 14 years, the governor ignored that need. DOT's crime was attempting to give modern rail systems the same priority as highways and airports. </b></p>
<ul>
<li><h3><a href="fla.html"> In Support
of Florida High-Speed Rail </a></h3>
<li><h3><a href="go.html">High-Speed
Rail in America</a></h3>
</ul>
<p> Welcome to my high-speed rail site! Here in
America one sometimes hears that our transportation system
is the "envy of the world." But in reality our rail
systems, especially passenger services, are
far behind those
of other countries. This site is established in the hope of helping
bring
high-speed
trains to America. </p>
<h2> An Overview: High-Speed Rail in America </h2>
<p> There is no true high-speed rail in America and
now that the Florida
governor has
stopped the FOX high-speed project, none is planned for at least
the next
five years. In
fact if the present state of affairs continues it is very likely
that we will not
see high-speed
rail at all in the near future. </p>
<p> The fastest trains in America are the "Metroliners"
currently
operated by Amtrak on
the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, DC. The
current
top speed on
the Corridor is 125 mph and may increase to up to 150 mph on short
sections with the
arrival of the new
"Acela" trains scheduled for October of 1999. </p>
<p> However, these trains will not approach the sustained,
near-200 mph
speeds of
trains
throughout western Europe and Japan--and are not widely regarded
as
high-speed
trains in most of the world. </p>
<p> These new Northeast Corridor trains will be a great
improvement and a step in the right direction for high-speed development.
But since they are far from the leading edge of high-speed technology
(too slow: average speed on Boston-Washington of 85 mph) they
will not attract the kind of ridership that true high-speed rail
would. So Acela cannot be considered a "test" of whether
high-speed rail will work in America.</p>
<h2> The Reasons for High-Speed Rail</h2>
<p> Air and highway traffic congestion, pollution, car
crashes, energy waste...are seen all too easily, every day, in
our nation. Yet officials continue to widen the highways, "to
ease the congestion."</p>
<p>There are alternatives to that.</p>
<p>One realistic alternative is to imrove other transport
systems, not just highways.
In major corridors, high-speed rail would ease traffic congestion,
improve safety and cut air pollution. If the success of
high-speed trains overseas is any indication, then those trains
have a place in our country. Joseph Vranich in his landmark book
<cite>Supertrains</cite> (1991) makes an excellent
case for high-speed rail in America.</p>
<p>The near absence of passenger trains is an outrage, a whole mode of travel senselessly neglected, leaving the whole transport system unhealthy and inadequate. It is the intolerable result of corrupt policy that even effectively denies that passenger trains exist as transportation.</p>
<p>It is enough to bring widespread public protest, and
swift reform, but certain interests have been incredibly successful
with their propaganda machine. A good part of America has been
convinced to think only in terms of highway and airport expansion:</p>
<h2> Widespread Myths</h2>
<p> "Americans love their automobiles too much
to ride trains." </p>
<p> To the contrary, a 1997 Marist poll of New York
state
residents found that
82 percent of respondents thought "improved and expanded"
passenger
train service was
just as important, or more important, than "having good highways
and
airports."* </p>
<p> Clearly this is a response to the nightmare traffic
problems and
obvious
environmental harm that our "world's best" transport
system is causing.
</p>
<p> But even if Americans ignore environmental and safety
problems
and continue to
drive whenever they want--there is another, greater reason why
they will
ride high-speed
trains. Americans will ride fast trains when they are the most
attractive
choice--much as
they choose flying for long distances. And for medium-distance
trips,
high-speed trains
have proven themselves to be more than attractive. </p>
<p> "Population density in the US is not high
enough for high-speed
trains to work."
</p>
<p> While population density here is not what it
is elsewhere, the US has
the highest
travel volume in the world. Thus we may have an even greater
ridership
base for high-
speed rail than other countries.** </p>
<p> "Rail systems are expensive to build." </p>
<p> Rail construction, while a major undertaking,
is not costly compared
with other
modes. For example while Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel--a local
highway project--cost
$11 billion, the Florida high-speed rail project--linking Miami,
Orlando
and Tampa--was
expected to cost about $6 billion.*** </p>
<h2>Ending the Stranglehold</h2>
<p> "Despite all this nonsense," wrote
Vranich in
<cite>Supertrains</cite>, "high-speed trains
are as
inevitable as was the Wright brothers' first flight." Yet
our government to
this day
maintains a transportation stranglehold, refusing to fund rail
projects
realistically--and not
one true high-speed line is even planned. </p>
<p> Nevertheless, it is only a matter of time before
transportation
problems and fed-up
citizens force the "inevitable debut" of high-speed
rail that Vranich wrote
of. </p>
<p> If deliberate misinformation can be overcome, then
building a high-
speed rail line
immediately is a very realistic goal. The amount of funding required--
several billion dollars
over several years--is insignificant compared to the enormous
sums
budgeted for highway
construction in the coming years. And when that single line is
built,
millions will be able to ride high-speed rail--right here in America.
</p>
<p> This is a serious situation but not a hopeless one.
Here are some
realistic steps our
government can take to improve rail transportation: </p>
<b>
<p> 1. Upgrade the Northeast Corridor to 190 mph--the standard
in other countries. Our currently planned speeds are too slow
to really compete with cars and planes. Acela is supposed to
be high-speed rail; let's make it that.</p>
<p> 2. Build high-speed rail in other major corridors,
now. Officials continue to study high-speed rail as if it were
untried and risky. We've had more than enough
studies. High-speed rail should have been built twenty years
ago. </p>
<p> 3. Provide adequate funding for rail systems. In
1998 the federal
government spent $30 billion on highways but less than
$1 billion
on railroads.* Establish a Rail Trust Fund. There are
Trust Funds that ensure
enough money for highways and aviation. No such fund
exists for
rail.</p>
<p> 4. Allow states to spend on rail. Says the National
Association of
Railroad Passengers (NARP): "Congress repeatedly
has refused to
allow states to use flexible surface transportation funds
for intercity
passenger rail, although these funds can be used for
most
other...transportation, including hiker/biker trails."
</p>
</b>
<h2> Advocacy: A Vehicle for Change </h2>
<p> If you support passenger trains and/or high-speed
rail, please let
your voice be heard! You may even want to join a rail advocacy
organization--a few are
listed below.
The NARP site has links to
other pro-rail organizations. </p>
<ul>
<li> <a href="http://www.narprail.org/">National
Association of Railroad Passengers
(NARP)</a>
<li> <a href="http://www.hsgt.org/">Supertrain
Society (High-Speed Ground Transportation Association)</a>
</ul>
Here are a few links to sites about high-speed trains in other
countries:
<ul>
<li> <a href="http://www.teleway.ne.jp/~dolittle/byunbyun/index.htm">The
Shinkansen
(Bullet Train)</a>
<li> <a href="http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/tgv/tgvindex.html">
The TGV </a>
<li> <a href="http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/ice/ice.html">The
German ICE</a>
</ul>
You are visitor number <IMG
SRC="http://web.liberty.com/cgi-bin/Count.cgi?df=twhsr.dat|ft=0|comma=f"><BR>
since March 3, 1999.
<p> Thank you for visiting my high-speed rail site.
There is hope for
getting modern rail transportation in this country! </p>
</font>
<p> * News from the National Association of Railroad
Passengers, Issue 2, Feb. 1998 </p>
<p> **<cite>Derailed: What Went Wrong and What to Do About America's Passenger Trains</cite> by Joseph Vranich (1997)</p>
<p> ***Central Artery figure is from the
Record Herald
newspaper, Waynesboro, PA, Feb. 1999.
FOX figure
is from a <a href="http://cnn.com:80/US/9901/14/BC-RAILROADS-TRAIN.reut/index.html">CNN
online story </a> regarding the halting of FOX. </p>
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<p> Please e-mail comments or suggestions to Jay at:
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