Acela

The Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development made over 16,000 observations of portable tech usage on airplains, trains, and buses. Their findings show that there is a increase of tech use on transit, but usage is reliant on users having space.

Without doubt, the pride of the Amtrak fleet is the ten-year-old Acela train, the closest thing to high speed rail in existence in the United States. This piece looks at the current service and Amtrak's hope for the future for the northeast route.

Train writer Christian Wolmar argues that the best application for high speed rail funds would be to upgrade the Washington D.C. to Boston, 150 mph Acela line to true, high speed rail status and used as a showcase for American rail technology.

No one expects the $8 billion to build any one single high-speed-rail system in the U.S. But the U.S., with its vast distances and low gas prices, is not Europe or Asia, and some question whether the investment will produce any substantial results.