Coast-to-Coast High-Speed Rail Route Proposed Between Los Angeles and New York

 

Newsweek reports on the above proposal, submitted as a letter of inquiry to Amtrak by:

AmeriStarRail, a startup specializing in high-speed and intermodal passenger rail, pitched a partnership with Amtrak to launch the "Transcontinental Chief," a high-speed rail route that would run between Los Angeles and New York in under 72 hours.

I have written up similar ideas in the past.  

The thing is now I am convinced, from the 'why can't we have nice things' department that because Republicans don't believe in the concepts of public goods, public investment, and climate change, that something like this won't ever happen in my lifetime ("Trump administration pulls billions in funding for high-speed rail project; state leaders call decision ‘illegal’," Los Angeles Times, "Train linking Twin Cities, Duluth in doubt as D.C. Republicans try to yank money for passenger rail," Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "'Derailed' tells the story of the Wisconsin high-speed rail line that wasn't," The Capital Times).

Plus, HSR makes more sense for shorter trips, like DC to Boston, not New York City to Los Angeles.  There are other issues too ("Whither (wither) high-speed rail?," "California HSR: Seven Deadly Mistake," Railway Age).

Plus I think we need to think about this in terms of the major nodes on this line in turn supporting the development of robust regional rail services, along the lines of what I suggested here:

-- "Two train/regional transit ideas: Part 1 | Amtrak should acquire Greyhound," (2021), based on the organization and delivery of railroad passenger services in Japan.  And it should further include inter-city bus services where rail service is hindered.

That's in keeping with Amtrak ridership being focused in major corridors like DC to Boston or San Diego to Los Angeles.

Note that some people suggest that AmeriStarRail is merely an attempt to privatize Amtrak.

The new route would replace Amtrak's Southwest Chief and Pennsylvanian lines and rely on existing infrastructure from host railroads, including BNSF, Norfolk Southern and New Jersey Transit. 

Unlike past rail startups that have required federal funding, AmeriStarRail says its model is entirely privately funded. The company has presented the proposal to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and members of Congress.

Note that a study of VIA Rail passenger services suggest that transcontinental trips by rail produce more GHG than air travel ("Why the train may not be the greenest way to travel across Canada," CBC-TV).  

So the focus in the US should be on replacing shorter distance air travel with the train.  Except competition and lobbying from airlines and airports--most publicly owned anyway.

Under the Biden Administration Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration produced a master plan for developing a more robust passenger system (MORE TRAINS. MORE CITIES. Better Service), based on the concept of focusing on regional/multi-state services.

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-- "Moving Forward—At Restricted Speed," Railway Age