Are We There Yet? Perspectives of a Pioneering Visionary

This chapter addresses a vision of what was, is, and can be. Japan is already 65 years into its passenger rail improvements and modifications. France is just over 35 years and China is eight (8) years into its passenger rail improvements and modifications. Why cannot the United States see the economic and environmental reasons for doing the same in this country? This chapter discusses that and more. The author has attempted to parcel out the whys, what's and where's as to how the United States became so parochial when it comes to passenger rail transportation; why it is so reticent towards moving forward, and what can be done to change the current political and social attitude and climate.

Progress through Partnerships

This chapter provides a brief history of the development of the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA) and includes: 1) An overview of two studies utilized by NIPRA to develop their preferred rail corridor through Fort Wayne; 2) the partnerships that were developed at the local level across the corridor; 3) the study completed to provide a business case for the corridor; 4) discussions on coordination and fundraising efforts by NIPRA and the City of Fort Wayne staff, including a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant application; and 5) the next steps for NIPRA and corridor partners.

Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. High-Speed Rail Development

As we witness the advancement of U.S. high-speed rail initiatives, the country can look towards its European and Asian counterparts for best practices and lessons learned from their decades of high-speed rail design and operations. These experiences gained may be applicable towards projects such as the Texas Central Railway and the California High-Speed Rail Project. This chapter will address the events of 2009 that have brought domestic high-speed rail to the forefront of U.S. rail transportation. This includes the new FRA Tier I and proposed Tier III criteria, challenges associated with each FRA tier of operation, overseas interoperability efforts, snapshots of international experiences (from policy and technological perspectives), the holistic system-based approach to safety, ongoing efforts of the FRA Engineering Task Force, and additional challenges and opportunities moving forward.

Benefits Forgone

By conservative, reliable, objective, and preliminary estimates, the United States could generate at least $660 million annually – $26.4 billion over four decades – by building and operating faster, more frequent, more dependable, and more highly integrated passenger rail service in four corridors: The Northeast; the Chicago Hub; California; and the Northwest. Numerous studies by a variety of national and international organizations and government agencies suggest that the actual cost of building and/or improving passenger rail service lines is significantly less than the cost per mile of other modal alternatives. In fact, in many corridors, passenger rail is the only feasible option for adding capacity, given the practical constraints facing aviation and highway expansion. Further, by integrating improved, higher speed intercity passenger rail service into the existing transportation system, major issues of congestion, mobility and economic inequality can be addressed.

California High-Speed Rail

California has started construction on the first true high-speed rail system in the United States. In this chapter, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority describes how the state's historic investment in new high-speed rail infrastructure will benefit Californians. Benefits include job creation, statewide modernization of existing local rail lines, short and long-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, preservation of agricultural land and environmentally sensitive habitats, advanced clean and green construction practices and technologies, a commitment to 100% renewable energy use, and assistance to partner cities on transit-oriented planning for high-speed rail station areas.

Blended Approach

High Speed Rail development is an increasingly significant, interesting topic in the present and expected to continue to grow even more in the future. Implementation of high-speed rail would require the right type of track network system that would need to be maintained and/or built, as necessary. In this chapter, the author recommends that the United States will need to use the Blended or Building Block Approach to develop high-speed rail. He presents several examples of blended infrastructure worldwide for high-speed rail, which would offer a range of tools here in the United States for high-speed rail development.

Safety of Domestic High Speed Passenger Rail Operations

This chapter examines safety related to high and higher speed inter-city passenger rail operations. Generally, most risk related to rail travel is associated with collisions between on-track equipment and vehicles and pedestrians at level crossings. A larger amount of fatalities, but not necessarily systemic risk, is due to trespassing on the rail right-of-way. A third aspect of risk related to rail operations lies in rail to rail collisions and derailments, some of which may be catastrophic. A discussion of safety programs implemented by the rail industry at national and international levels concludes the chapter.

California's “Fast-Track” to High-Speed Rail

For over 50 years, after both public and private studies confirmed California's need for high-speed rail, nothing happened. The rest of the US had a similarly disappointing experience when attempting to break into the rapidly growing family of nations with operating high-speed trains. Yet, over the past year, California has contracted over $2.5 billion in high-speed rail civil work, is preparing RFPs for three times that amount, and has secured commitments for nearly $25 billion in additional federal and state funding over the next 30 years. Private investors are lining up for the nation's first high-speed rail public-private partnership to complete this $68 billion, 540 mile project. This chapter describes the unprecedented technical excellence, political courage, and visionary voter support that created that high-speed rail breakthrough for California and the nation.

High Speed Rail

High-speed rail is gaining momentum worldwide in many countries in the world including the United States and especially in the state of California, Florida, and Texas currently. Focusing on the list of topics below would enable readers including professionals, policy-makers, leaders, staff, academicians, scholars, and students to explore assignments and research into innovative ideas, plans, and strategies related to high-speed rail in the U.S. The chapter presents a list of topics that includes case studies, research questions, projects, and other suggestions to stimulate further research and explore assignments into more optimal formulation and implementation of high-speed rail for the U.S. in the future.

High Speed Rail

This chapter focuses on the recent Southwest states' multi-state planning collaborative study, which the Federal Railroad Administration initiated, coordinated, and released in 2015. It highlights the process, planning contextual factors, conclusions, recommendations, and implications, which may serve as a reference model for future studies in other regions of the U.S. The chapter also looks at the momentum of high-speed rail in the U.S., especially in California, and explores some of the considerations in moving toward more optimal and comprehensive transportation planning and policy development for high-speed rail for the U.S. in the future.