America is building high-speed rail
Imagine a world where another travel option exists. One that offers freedom, safety, and efficiency. Imagine the world of high-speed rail.
Fast trains will spread freedom and opportunity
Save hours each week with faster, stress-free trips between cities and regions.
High-speed rail spreads attracts new businesses, boosts tourism, and revitalizes downtowns around stations.
Every major project creates tens of thousands of jobs in construction, operations, engineering, and manufacturing.
Clean, electric trains cut pollution and carbon emissions for a healthier, more sustainable America.
How we work to advance high-speed rail projects
USHSR advocates in Washington and Sacramento for funding and policies that support specific high-speed rail projects and the industry as a whole. We support viable steel-wheel-on-steel-rail projects such as Brightline West, California High-Speed Rail, Cascadia High-Speed Rail, the High Desert Corridor, and Texas Central that can demonstrate the value of high-speed rail to the American people. We also build political support for our vision of a nationwide high-speed rail network and the new federal framework required to build one. Since 2021, USHSR has helped secure $30 billion in state and federal funds for high-speed rail projects.
USHSR Members serve on a variety of standing and ad hoc policy committees that develop our issue positions and policy recommendations. These committees include Standards, Permitting Reform, Funding & Finance, Governance and Supply Chain. The Permitting Reform subcommittee recently developed and drafted The America on Track Act, a bill focused on reducing environmental review timelines that will be introduced into Congress on a bipartisan basis.
The USHSR Standards committee, launched in early 2026, represents the first effort to develop comprehensive American standards for high-speed rail. It includes over 60 experts representing over 20 USHSR member organizations on eight separate committees:
- Track & Infrastructure
- Rolling Stock
- Maintenance
- Traction Power
- Train Control
- Communications
- Operations & Traffic Management
- Oversight
Representatives of the Standards committee will present the proposed standards at USHSR's annual conference on May 18-19 in Washington, D.C.
USHSR is steadily building a powerful coalition of labor unions, businesses, and nonprofit groups -including transit and rail advocacy groups, progressive groups, trade associations - to support high-speed rail initiatives in Washington, D.C., California and around the country. We work every day to grow and strengthen this coalition, which is the key to advancing high-speed rail in America.
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