New High-Speed Rail Plan Announced

Could a 90 minute train trip between Austin and Dallas someday be possible? Today the popular choices are plane (50 minutes), car (three hours), bus (four hours), and train (best-case about 4 ½ hours). On Thursday, April 16, 2009, the President offered another alternative: his vision of multiple high-speed rail corridors within the United States that included Austin. “My high-speed rail proposal will lead to innovations that change the way we travel in America. We must start developing clean, energy-efficient transportation that will define our regions for centuries to come,” said President Obama. A down payment on the plan of $8B was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and another $1B was added in the proposed FY2010 budget. Cost estimates for the high-speed rail range from $250B to $500B.

The most likely initial implementation will be along the densely populated east-coast corridors. A recent study claimed: “The authors could not identify much more than 350 miles of new Rapid Rail in the USA that would be cost effective, so, like France today, the bulk of the expansion would likely be in Light Rail and Streetcars.” Further details on the rail plan can be found here.