Value Added: High-Speed Rail: Clarifying the Vision
NewAmericanCont... - November 2, 2009 - 11:56am
The U.S. High Speed Rail Association's (HSRA) recent conference, High Speed Rail 2009, brought together policymakers, academics, and rail experts from around the world to outline a comprehensive plan for high-speed rail (HSR) in the United States. Good timing: as the Obama Administration prepares to roll out $8 billion in stimulus spending and an additional $5 billion, five-year annual appropriation for HSR, participants discussed how best to allocate the funds and how much more money is needed.
The HSRA's headline proposal: a 17,000-mile, coast-to-coast network with trains running at top speeds of 220 mph, built out over the next 20 years. Such a plan would cost $600 billion, the group estimates--$30 billion per year for 20 years...
