High-Speed Trains: Can the U.S. Catch Up?
By Kenji Hall, Business Week.
Faster Trains on Track?
The U.S. has long lagged behind the rest of the world in the development of high-speed trains. Countries like Japan and France have had extensive super-fast railroads for decades, providing travelers with convenient alternatives to planes and cars. China has a high-speed line, using magnetic levitation technology, in Shanghai with many more planned. Taiwan and South Korea have built high-speed train networks, too. Meanwhile, the U.S. has nothing outside of the Northeast corridor. That may change soon. President Obama’s stimulus plan, passed by Congress last month, includes $8 billion to fund high-speed train projects. It’s unclear, though, how much the Obama administration is willing to spend on new rail lines. The cost of rail projects can be expensive. One example: Upgrading 322 kilometers (200 miles) of track between New York and Boston for Amtrak’s Acela train cost $1.6 billion a decade ago. Here’s a look at high-speed train projects around the world—and some of the places in the U.S. that are hoping to get in on the action, too.
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