The Bright Future of U.S. Passenger Rail

High-speed rail may still be a distant vision in the United States, but conventional passenger rail is having a resurgence.

1 minute read

November 14, 2023, 10:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Close-up of old-fashioned trains departure board with yellow text on black background in Boston, Massachusetts train station.

JCG / Adobe Stock

Writing in Fast Company, Benjamin Schneider offers a hopeful vision of U.S. passenger rail, which is being infused with historic levels of federal funding. Schneider admits that the $66 billion federal investment in trains “will not yield revolutionary changes to passenger rail,” it will help improve and expand service for many U.S. train riders. “On several rail-friendly corridors—big city pairs less than 300 miles apart—train travel will go from an eccentric travel option to a perfectly logical one.”

Pointing to new train cars on Amtrak’s Midwestern lines, Schneider writes, “State-of-the-art rolling stock is the most vivid sign that train travel is no nostalgia trip. It’s modern, it’s efficient, it’s comfortable, and it’s only getting better.”

Schneider points out that improvements to conventional rail—rather than the more glamorous high-speed rail—“will cumulatively impact the lives of many more Americans, much sooner, than multigenerational infrastructure projects like California High-Speed Rail.”

The article lists several impactful projects in states across the country, such as Colorado’s new Front Range Line, expanded service between St. Paul and Chicago, and improvements to a popular Southern California train line threatened by coastal erosion.

Friday, November 10, 2023 in Fast Company

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Line of RVs being used as homes parked on street in Mountain View, California.

Seattle Safe Parking Site to Close, Relocate

A nonprofit leases lots during permitting stages to erect tiny homes and RV safe parking sites for unhoused residents. But the model means constant uncertainty and displacement.

May 25 - The Seattle Times

Orange Los Angeles Metro bus passing on blurred street at night.

LA ‘Mobility Wallet’ Increased Quality of Life for Participants

The city distributed a monthly $150 transportation subsidy to 1,000 low-income Angelenos. It dramatically improved their lives.

May 25 - KTLA

White Shinkansen high-speed rail train passing on bridge over pond in Japan.

Texas, California Rail Projects Seek Out Private Funding

In the wake of Trump’s cuts to high-speed rail projects, rail authorities are looking to private-public partnerships to supplement their budgets.

May 25 - Smart Cities Dive