US High-Speed Rail Gains Momentum

High-speed rail (HSR) remains absent from the United States despite serving 340 million people and its extensive network of highways since two projects have been started: San Francisco to Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Los Angeles. According to Rick Harnish from the High Speed Rail Alliance California faces challenging geography yet Nevada offers a flat landscape which will enable completion by 2033 and 2028. The plans for connecting Portland to Vancouver and Dallas to Houston encounter delays because Trump terminated a $63.9 million Texas grant. Europe operates an 8,556km high-speed rail network while China possesses a 50,000km network but the UK demonstrates its capabilities through HS1 and HS2 projects. The International Union of Railways defines high-speed rail by requiring operational speeds above 250 km/h. The US continues to fall behind in HSR development because of its automobile-oriented culture and political opposition that led Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner to resign after facing White House opposition. Amtrak plans to introduce Acela trains reaching speeds of 160mph but these vehicles do not fulfill the requirements for high-speed rail. According to 21st Europe, HSR in China enables city economies to increase by 14.2% while its companies build Asian networks which raises geopolitical issues. The success of US HSR initiatives depends on resolving three fundamental obstacles including funding requirements and regulatory challenges and cultural acceptance issues.