Are there any proposed or concrete plans for any high speed rail linking U.S. cities?

Answer 1

Of course there are PLANS... But there are also problems.

Aside from the fact that citizens are addicted to their automobiles, and the COST of building such a system is prohibitive...

In Northern California, almost ALL the rail is owned by Union Pacific and runs FREIGHT... this causes traffic control problems, as well as the fact that freight-rail doesn't support high-speed rail because it's not "smooth" enough.

I ride CalTrain and ACE frequently... and ACE could run almost twice as fast if it didn't have to deal with the UP Freight traffic.

Here are a number of plans and promises: http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/htHighSpeedRail.htm

Here are some of the problems: http://www.bayrailalliance.org/q_what_problems_are_encountered_when_a_passenger_rail_train_uses_tracks_owned_by_freight_rail_companies

I would LOVE to see it happen.

Answer 2

No .. that's unless you plan on helping pay for it. With most property already bought up around big cities (suburbia) this is not going to happen anytime soon.

And don't say high speed trains can use current tracks that freight trains run on ... it already doesn't work for Amtrak, so why would it work then?

High speed trains need to have there own track and with the way things are today with the "burbs" .. no one wants it running through their back yard! Take a Greyhound or just drive!

Really I think it would need to be elevated to work ... no crossings for idiots to get hit by a train running 150 + mph ... just think about the cost of such an endeavor also.

Wonder what a ticket would cost and how long it would take for a company to recoup it's construction cost alone?

Answer 3

The short answer is that there are several proposals but few if any will become reality in, say, the next 10-20 years if even by then. Case-in-point is Amtrak, which is constantly fought over in Congress and underfunded. Until this country begins to see the value of high-speed rail and the advantages it brings, which we have failed to do so up until now, it will never become a reality.

Answer 4

Proposed and no real work or recent discussion.
A high speed link from Las Vegas to Dinseyland. It was in the newspapers last year. The take congestion off of Route 15 between the two areas. I never saw a funding source,

Answer 5

A short research on the web would have answered your question... There are several proposed high speed lines:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_the_United_States
http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/
http://www.floridahighspeedrail.org/
http://www.midwesthsr.org/
http://www.trainweb.org/hsr/
http://www.igs.berkeley.edu/library/htHighSpeedRail.htm
...
...

Answer 6

Only in some people's dreams.

Answer 7

Yep.

Just as soon as OJ finds the real killer.......