Here's Where High Speed Trains Are Expanding in the U.S.
We may be behind the rest of the world but we're (slowly) catching up.
If you've ever traveled to other parts of the world, you may notice it's a bit easier to get around. Not just the public transportation, but the trains in general. Not only are there a lot of them… but those puppies are fast. And as any train enthusiast will tell you, we over here in the US are years and years behind most other countries when it comes to high speed trains.
For a country with such a high GDP and a propensity for spending around $40 billion a year on combat aircraft, you'd think we could scrounge up the budget. And yet, the entire Department of Transportation has a total annual budget of $43 billion. And a good chunk of that budget is going toward highways and airports. With President Biden's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, there was $66 billion allotted towards passenger rail infrastructure to be spent over a period of years—and these investments have prompted the announcements for major rail advancements.
There are high speed train projects popping up around the country, and in the next few years there will be more ways to zip around in and across states. Most of them being constructed are through private ventures, not government investment, but hey, it's a start. Here are some of the high speed trains that are already here or are coming soon.
Florida's Brightline
In Florida, Brightline is connecting the state in a way that was hard to imagine even a few years ago. Now, you will be able to get from Miami to Orlando in just under three hours, for a starting price of $79 each way. That's cheaper than driving or flying, with none of the hassle involved in either. It is the largest expansion of the Brightline rail line, which is already running service between Miami, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale.
Brightline's Las Vegas to California route
The same privately funded venture bringing high speed rail to Florida will also begin connecting the west coast as well. Brightline's planned route connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas will take just two hours by train. Construction is set to begin this year, and when complete, the train will run at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. The project is expected to cost around $10 billion. Construction is expected to be completed by 2027, and ground was broken on the route in April 2024.
Amtrak's high speed train
Amtrak's new high speed Acela trains were initially planned to launch in 2021, but the pandemic delayed that plan. The high speed train currently serves Boston, New Haven, New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Washington in seven hours. The train travels at speeds up to 150 miles per hour. A new fleet of trains are scheduled to be introduced in the Northeast Corridor, and those trains will operate at top speeds of 160 miles per hour—they should be in service sometime in 2024, though Amtrak says the project is still in production.
California's high speed rail project
There's not enough funding for this project, even though the section between Bakersfield and Merced is already partially under construction. On May 28, 2024, the agency applied for $450 million in funding to advance construction and safety between Madera and Merced on the route. The proposed complete high speed rail would connect San Diego all the way up to San Francisco and Sacramento. According to Forbes, the entire project needs $128 billion. By March 2024, only $28 billion has been secured.
Right now, that's pretty much all we've got. There is also a proposed project to connect Houston and Dallas, but the project seems somewhat doomed if not just massively delayed at this point. According to Statista and Forbes, there is a lack of funding and public support to move forward with the rail project—likely stagnating any construction for years to come, if it begins at all.
But there is a loud and growing call among politicians and citizens for the expansion of high speed rail for inter- and intra-state travel. "I just don't know why people in other countries ought to have better train service and more investment in high-speed train service than Americans do," said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
A March 2024 poll conducted by the US High-Speed Rail Coalition revealed that the 72% of US voters want a nationwide rail network. Overall, high speed rail has a 71% favorability rating, and a majority of voters believe that congress should support funding that would create a nationwide high speed rail network.
"A clear majority of voters want a nationwide high-speed rail network," said Andy Kunz, CEO of US High Speed Rail. "Americans are ready for the high-speed rail revolution."