High-Speed Rail

The California High Speed Rail Blog says that the biggest obstacle to building HSR in California isn't the cost, but a number of problems with the planning process, especially the California Environmental Quality Act.

California Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered state officials to seek federal funding only for the state's high-speed rail project--at the expense of efforts to make Metrolink trains safer, some say.

Many in Sacramento and California's Central Valley are concerned that they aren't being prioritized in the process to get high-speed rail moving.

Planners from Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno met this week to discuss plans for high-speed rail between their cities, since they've been left off the map of potential corridors to be funded by the stimulus package.

Siemens has retrofitted trains for cold Russian winters; they are being rolled out now between Moscow and St. Petersburg and could be a model for American HSR.

America 2050 recently released a report ranking the best intercity corridors for high speed rail investment.

Kenya's national railway operator is planning a high speed rail line to transport freight and passengers and could pose a challenge to the South African consortium that currently runs rail services between Kenya and Uganda.

Eleven major cities in the UK, including council leaders representing all three major political parties, have begun a campaign for a high-speed rail network linking them together to serve the entire country.

Many would-be train riders are frustrated by poor transit options at their destination city.

NPR looks at a few of the areas that have submitted proposals for high-speed rail funding.

Union Pacific has proposed an increase in its freight and high-speed rail traffic in Springfield, including a route running through the heart of the city. It calls for nine overpasses, which would cost millions and block homes and landmarks.

A California judge rules that the California High Speed Rail Authority's environmental impact report was inadequate. Plaintiffs celebrate ruling as a victory, but the Authority doesn't see it as a setback.

In considering the daunting task of building high-speed rail in the midst of an economic crisis, CBS Sunday Morning looks back and finds that the Transcontinental Railroad was built during similarly tough times.

Spaniards are quickly adapting to life with a high-speed rail network. Air travel between Barecelona and Madrid is down 46% because of it.

Secretary Ray LaHood is promoting livable communities, but the Wisconsin Department of Transportation insists that Madison's new Amtrak station should be located on the edge of town next to a big parking lot at the airport.

LA's Metro board is getting on board with high-speed rail, announcing Thursday that a Los Angeles-to-Anaheim (home of Disneyland) train could be a reality in less than 10 years.

Colorado, Arizona and Texas have come together to apply for a $5m grant to research a possible high-speed rail link connecting Denver, Albuquerque, and El Paso.

This op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail argues that plans for a high-speed rail link between the Albertan cities of Calgary and Edmonton makes eminent sense -- at least, according to the thinking of Richard Florida and colleagues.

Returning from CNU, James Howard Kunstler reacts to a NY Times article about California's high-speed rail plans, and reflects on New Urbanism's shift away from traditional-neighborhood developments and into preparing for the 'long emergency'.

Alex Marshall takes a look at Spain's recent record of proactive transportation planning, connecting cities to direct development rather than to connect already successful areas.