", State-of-the-art in smart, visionary transportation for America, "New approaches to planning and development will be required to realize America's extensive railway redesign. Here’s hoping it gets built and people actually ride it. Even better, three quarters of passenger rail activity is on electric trains, making the rail industry the only form of transportation that is widely electrified today. Japan began building high-speed rail in … This is not the case in many American cities, where arriving by train typically means jumping into a cab or renting a car for the last leg of your journey. Your 1999 Toyota Corolla can go faster than that when you just get a little distracted. Want to guess which industry especially hates bullet trains? Of course, Europe also has some pretty nice, and pretty pricey, stuff sitting between its cities. But high-speed rail soon stalled as the railroad industry collapsed in the 1970s. Our current rail infrastructure isn’t that straight where it needs to be. That route currently sees some of the best rail service available in the US in the form of Amtrak’s Acela, but it’s just not good enough. It seems that now, finally, there are people in the US really demanding good, fast rail service, and there are several exciting projects taking shape. For years, the optimists have spun starry visions of millions of Californians traveling quickly, comfortably and environmentally consciously between the state’s two major population centers. Trains will reach speeds of 200 mph. Due to generations of blaring advertisements and infrastructure built with cars in mind, Americans find gas-guzzlers more comforting than other modes of transportation, according to the Atlantic, even though automobiles are more dangerous, worse for the environment, and a pain in the neck for society at large. trains that many of us would like to ride. And it’s not without its flaws. Not in this lifetime. California Governor Jerry Brown’s name and others are pictured on a railroad rail after a ceremony for the California High Speed Rail in Fresno, California January 6, 2015. Given the extent of what needs to be done, there is no chance that existing railway finance, design and construction efforts could simply be scaled up. After all, nobody's trying to put these increasingly greedy airline industries out of business — just offering a worthwhile alternative. While several countries have undertaken the tough work of raising the money to invest in bullet trains, it's unlikely the United States will ever see the vast network of high-speed trains that blanket other countries. San Francisco to Los Angeles In February 2019 , California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state would scale back California’s high-speed rail project that has been plagued with growing costs and political opposition . The real reason the United States has no high-speed rail network, American Public Transportation Association. The real enemy foiling the launch efforts of high-speed rail in the United States isn't culture or public opinion, but rather, the billion-dollar industries that stand to take a hit. When you arrive in Tokyo, Paris or Barcelona, it's often convenient (and even pleasant) to walk to your final destination. Not good. Efforts began to speed up Northeast corridor train service in the 1990s, and the Acela launched in 2000. Brightline very recently came almost out of nowhere and started running a very high-quality, reasonably fast rail service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.