Below is a video showcasing some of the trains in other parts of the world. In recent years, California has moved to implement a high speed rail system within their state, and this video appears to be promoting this idea.
That trip opened my eyes to an entirely "new" way to travel. Of course "new" is certainly a joke - people traveled by train long before cars were around. But, for my generation, travel by car was the rule, especially since I grew up in a fairly rural area. Since that trip, travel by rail has been on my radar. Many groups have been advocating for high speed rail for decades, and in some circles it has finally gained traction for environmental and sustainability reasons.
Though Roseland focused on mass transit options within cities and communities, my interest has especially been in regional high speed rail, particularly in the Midwest. Since 1993, the Midwest High Speed Rail Association (MHSRA) has advocated the benefits revitalizing rail travel between midwestern cities. According to their site, high speed rail could provide transportation from Indianapolis to Chicago in 1 hour and 15 minutes! I'm pretty sure no one would ever drive for that trip again! Even flying - factoring in travel time to the airport, checking in, traveling into the city after landing - even flying wouldn't be quicker in most cases. In fact, they claim that over 43 million people would be within 3 hours of Chicago with high speed rail.
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| Proposed Midwest high speed rail system and estimated times of travel, from MHSRA |
Best of all, from an environmental standpoint, travel by rail provides a way to decrease fossil fuel use and thus, emissions. MHSRA claims that travel by rail would use less fossil fuels than flying, driving, and busing.
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| High-speed rail is expected to require less energy than almost any other mode of transit, per the MHSRA website. |
Furthermore, regional high speed rail would be the perfect compliment to intra-city mass transit options. In some cities, high speed rail could connect airport passengers to city centers. Better yet, high speed rail could easily connect to light rail, bus lines, and walkable urban centers. It would also decrease the need for parking within cities as more individuals choose to take high speed rail into urban areas rather than driving. This could allow parking lots and parking garages now sprinkled around cities (Indy particularly comes to mind) to be converted into multi-use areas for housing and businesses.
One area of particular interest to me is a proposed high speed rail from Chicago to Cincinnati via Indianapolis. The proposed rail from Indy to Cincy could go through my hometown, Connersville, IN.
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| Proposed rail system through Indiana from MHSRA |
So, now I'm ready to go advocate for some regional high speed rail! Who's with me?
That is SO cool! Thanks for sharing. I always think of trains in America as slow, meandering, and expensive ways to travel. I had no idea there were any plans to bring Europe's high speed technology to the Midwest but if they were incorporated between larger cities domestic flights would decrease by a significant amount! Between being cheaper, faster, and more environmentally friendly, I imagine far far fewer people would bother with flights. When I was traveling in China on long distance speed trains even well dressed business men were a common sight, the social adjustment might take a little longer in the US but I think it is a very worthy goal and deserves some serious thought! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThese plans look amazing, but I just wonder how feasible it is to get them implemented? I know that plans such as these come up all the time but rarely get implemented. Everything sounds great, so whats holding them back? I think for one, getting the funding is always a big problem. Americans hate more taxes, and a rail system would take some serious revenue at least to start up. Secondly, I think that many americans point to our current system (Amtrak) and laugh. Amtrak is always running late, its slow, and the problems are numerous. I think if anything we need to begin by changing the stigma associated with rail travel in America. How did other rail systems get started up? Where did their money come from?
ReplyDeleteTo start, let me say I'm a big advocate of high speed rail and I wish they could find a way to implement it. People have been trying to get something built in Indy for years, but it never gains enough support. One reason they give is they do not believe enough people will ride it, which, while I admit I have not analyzed their data, is absolute hogwash. Taking the train to work vs. I465 is an absolute no brainer, and I just refuse to believe there wouldn't be enough people for a few trains. The other, possible more practical reason is funding. So, if I may play devil's advocate for a second, what would the cost of high speed rail from Chicago to Cincinnati be? What fare would they have to charge to break even?
ReplyDeleteI love this! You kind of blew my mind when you said it would take about an hour to get to Chicago. Imagine the drive to Indy from Bloomington! This would be so great for so many reasons. Like you said at the end, JOBS! But not just access to jobs in the city from rural areas like Connersville, but the job created to build and maintain the infrastructure. If they were built nationwide, and if the trains were built on American soil, that is jobs for millions of Americans! I love this post - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI really loved that video about high-speed rail around the globe. Its honestly amazing that the united states can be so behind in this regard! Environmental benefits aside, you would think that the government would see the economic benefit of such infrastructure. I would certainly love to see a mass transit system here in the Midwest, although I see cost and political bickering as a major barrier. The other problem that I see is that even if you can take a train to the downtown of say, my hometown Columbus Ohio, there still isn't adequate infrastructure within cities to get you to the parts of town you might need to go. If we are going to develop regional rail, we definitely need good public transit within cities as well.
ReplyDeleteCool post. In 2007 for the first time, Congress passed a plan to financially assist Amtrak for up to 7 years, as opposed to the usual 1 year. Those 7 years have passed, and Amtrak is still faulty at best, but there are billions of dollars proposed in the current budget to be used in cooperation with state governments that want to implement high speed inter-rail trains. So it is more realistic now then ever, which is exciting! One does have to wonder to privatizing the rail business would be more successful in the U.S. Maybe like a really wealthy sustainable financial backer. It could happen?
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