The Hill News

“High speed rail.” The image I associate with those words is a comfortable and smooth ride. The view out the window is a pleasant blur and passengers vary from families to business travelers. The journey concludes sooner than expected, but the destination happens to be somewhere in Europe or Asia. It should be a journey that takes place here in the United States.

Throughout the world, countries have poured substantial resources into high speed rail. Japan opened its first high speed rail line in 1964, and now captures 85% of the air/rail market between Tokyo and Osaka. France opened their first high speed rail line in 1981, and by 2009 had 1,160 miles of high speed rail line. More recently, in 1992, Spain opened its first high speed rail line and by 2003, Spain’s government spending on rail infrastructure surpassed their spending on roads.

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