High Speed Rail

Would High-Speed Rail from Dallas to Houston Make Sense?

Edward Glaeser continues his series on cost-benefit analysis of high-speed rail in the US, imagining a mythical route between Dallas and Houston.

August 14, 2009 - NY Times: Economix Blog

Developers Eye High-Density Opportunities in California's High Speed Rail Hubs

Southern California developers are gearing up to pounce on the areas surrounding proposed high speed rail hubs that will make up California's statewide high speed rail line.

August 12, 2009 - San Diego Business Journal

The Cost of a Hypothetical High Speed Rail Line

Economist Edward L. Glaeser crunches the numbers on a hypothetical high speed rail line between Dallas and Houston and finds the costs prohibitive.

August 6, 2009 - The New York Times

A Cost-Benefit Analysis for High Speed Rail

In the first of a series of posts to the NYTimes' Economix Blog, Edward Glaeser explores the value of high-speed rail in the US.

July 29, 2009 - Economix Blog: NYTimes

Midwest Governors Coordinate to Seek High Speed Rail Funding

At the Midwest High Speed Rail Summit today in Chicago, an agreement was struck between eight states to work cooperatively to achieve Recovery Act funding to develop the Chicago Hub High Speed Rail Corridor - also called the Midwest corridor.

July 29, 2009 - Environmental News Service

CA's High Speed Rail Hampered By Controversy

In this political column, Sac Bee columnist Dan Walters opines that the $.9 billion of CA's HSR $9.9 billion bond measure may be the only realistic accomplishment of Prop 1A due to budgetary and political hurdles the train may not be able to succumb.

July 21, 2009 - The Sacramento Bee

Western States Trying to Get on the High Speed Rail Bandwagon

Officials in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas are pooling efforts to try to secure federal funding for a high speed rail link between their urban areas.

July 13, 2009 - The Houston Chronicle

Las Vegas Included in California's Rail Plans

Las Vegas will now be included in plans for California's high speed rail network, according to the Department of Transportation.

July 7, 2009 - Progressive Railroading

Report Calls Chicago-St. Louis High Speed Rail Doable

High speed rail advocates in Chicago have released a study that says building a 220-m.p.h. train between Chicago and St. Louis is an achievable goal.

July 5, 2009 - Chicago Tribune

Masterplanning the Architecture of the Near Future

As the population rises, underused and empty spaces are going to fill in. How well the transition works depends on shifts in demographics and infrastructure, as well as architecture. A studio of UCLA architecture students were asked to plot that transition. But before they could be architects, they had to be planners.

June 18, 2009 - Nate Berg

What Happened to America's Trains?

In an age of rapid technological improvements in almost every aspect of life, it's difficult to understand how a technology like trains could actually be less advanced now than it was in the 1940s, writes Tom Vanderbilt.

May 16, 2009 - Slate

High Speed Rail Funds on the Way for California and Florida

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said recently that California and Florida are likely to be the first recipients of stimulus funding for high speed rail projects.

May 12, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

California Cities to Sue Over High Speed Rail Route

A group of cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are going to file a lawsuit next month over the chosen route for California's planned high speed rail route between the Bay Area and Southern California.

May 3, 2009 - The San Francisco Examiner

CA High Speed Rail Authority's Hopes Could Be Dashed

While the HSR Authority hopes to get at least half of the $8 billion ARRA funding, it has yet to market any of the $10 billion in bonds passed by the voters because of its budget problems. Criticism abounds.

April 13, 2009 - Sacramento Bee

Insufficient Funding for High Speed Rail?

The stimulus plan includes $8 billion for investments in high-speed rail, but some critics point out that this isn't nearly enough to bring these plans to fruition.

March 30, 2009 - MSNBC

Japan's Bullet Trains to Top 310 MPH by 2025

High speed train technology is progressing at a rapid pace in Japan, where mag-lev bullet trains are planned to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour by the year 2025.

March 25, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

Time May Be Right for Mag-Lev From Vegas to SoCal

A magnetic levitation train link between Anaheim and Las Vegas has been on the table for 30 years. Now could be the time the project finally gets enough traction to go from idea to reality.

March 24, 2009 - Las Vegas Sun

High Speed Rail-In-America Redux

High Speed Rail (HSR) is the favorite moniker to describe the new era of trains envisioned and partially down-paid by the recent stimulus.  The idea, linking major regional corridors via fast trains that rival door-to-door times for air travel and put highways to shame, is a powerful elixir to the crunch of congested highways and airways that represented a failed – or to be more accurate, incomplete - twentieth century vision to satiate America's transport needs.  Perhaps this vision, if implemented with undeterred gusto, can renew our perception of travel and convenience while simultaneously reinvigorating our gagged transportation system.

March 16, 2009 - Ian Sacs

Planned SF Transit Terminal May Be Obsolete By 2030

Designs for the new Transbay Terminal in San Francisco may not be able to handle the amount of passengers expected by 2030, according to transportation officials. Some are calling for a redesign of the plans, set to begin construction next year.

March 10, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Train in Spain Beats the Plane

As air travel security tightens and high speed rail expands, getting in and around Spain is becoming easier on the rails than in the sky.

March 6, 2009 - NPR

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