The Illusive Dream of Modern American Rail
The United States system of high speed and intercity railroads is way behind when compared to Europe and Asia, where key corridors regularly approach or exceed 200 mph and have average speeds three and sometimes even four times faster than Amtrak. Commentators often compare America’s train systems to that of a developing country. There was a frenzy last April, when President Obama committed $8 billion in stimulus funds to improve the country’s train network and asked Congress for another $5 billion over five years. Unfortunately,this seemingly large influx of cash will do relatively little to increase train performance in most areas.
