Dive brief:
- High-speed rail in the US could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, bring economic benefits to cities and improve regional connectivity, concludes a report released this month by the Mineta Transportation Institute.
- The report notes that the only US trains capable of operating at more than 150 mph are Amtrak’s Acela trains, but they reach those speeds on only about 50 miles of track along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington , DC.
- The Mineta report looks at the touted benefits of several high-speed rail projects, but all are still in the planning stages except for one under construction in California.
Diving knowledge:
Worldwide, more than three billion passengers travel on high-speed trains along nearly 35,000 miles of track each year. But in the US, many intercity passenger trains operate at speeds below 125 mph and are often limited to 79 mph where they share the right of way with freight railroads.
Mineta’s report states that travelers are “going from flying and driving to electrified.” [high-speed rail] would reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions”. He cites projections from the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which aims to build an 800-mile high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego, and from Brightline West, which is looking to build a 186 – mph line between Las Vegas and Southern California. Brightline claims its project would remove 3 million cars each year from the travel corridor.
In an effort to encourage travelers to use high-speed electric trains and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions, France banned commercial flights on some short routes in May. However, only three flight routes were cut, and the decree has been criticized for having little effect.
The two California projects are estimated to have created or will create thousands of jobs. The California High Speed Rail Authority says in its 2022 business plan that it has created 7,800 jobs by building the line in the state’s Central Valley, while Brightline West says it will create more than 10,000 jobs construction work and more than 1,000 permanent jobs in operations and maintenance. These two projects are competing for federal grants that will help them build the high-speed lines.
The Mineta report concludes that “a change to [high-speed rail] of other modes of transport could help the public sector save money by reducing the need for highway, airport and other infrastructure improvements.”
