donate now

hsr stimulus

National Rail Stimulus Plan to Get America Moving

NATIONAL HSR STIMULUS PLAN

The US High Speed Rail Association released this 5-Point High Speed Rail Stimulus Plan with project lists for the new Biden administration, who has promised to "spark the second great railroad revolution" with a major investment and focus on high speed rail across America. Making this a national priority will get America moving with millions of jobs and economic development as we face serious economic depression and the need for millions of jobs quickly. With the nation divided since the election, it’s more important than ever to launch a national unification project that can bring all Americans together over a common purpose of building our 21st century transportation system. Add to that the urgent need to address climate change in a big way, especially dealing with transportation (the largest contributor), high speed rail is the top solution for each of these serious problems at once! This is the deal of the century – multiple major solutions for a single investment and why this really is the silver bullet transportation solution. Following is our new 5-point plan:

1) create hsr Development Authority

This new authority would be set up within USDOT to direct and coordinate the national program working closely with state DOTs and MPOs to initiate, plan, build, and operate new systems. The HSR Development Authority would be tasked with advancing projects, conducting route studies, filing for permits, assembling land, hiring contractors, and hiring concessionaires to operate the trains. The work of this authority would include streamlining the approvals process by allowing simultaneous approvals, shortened timelines, and single agency approvals. _________________________________

2) advance top five priority projects

Select the nation's top 5 more important HSR projects, and designate them "Special Projects of National Significance" to be fast-tracked to completion with the full support of the federal government. (see map below) 1) California High Speed Rail - $60 Billion investment2) Texas High Speed Rail - $20 Billion investment3) NEC upgrade, New York City tunnels - $50 Billion investment. 4) Cascadia Ultra High Speed Rail (Pacific NW) - $40 Billion investment5) Florida High Speed Rail (Tampa-Orlando) - $2.5 Billion investment
_________________________________

3) advance second tier projects

Select the nation's next tier of HSR projects and immediately fund and assist them into early works - planning, route studies, permits, land acquisition, and pre-construction works. (see map below) 6) Chicago-Milwaukee HSR - $8 Billion investment7) Atlanta-Charlotte HSR - $18 Billion investment8) Louisville-Nashville HSR - $15 Billion investment9) Denver-Albuquerque HSR - $40 Billion investment10) Chicago - St. Louis HSR - $18 Billion investment11) Tulsa-Oklahoma City HSR - $8 Billion investment12) Chicago-Detroit HSR - $30 Billion investment13) Nashville-Memphis HSR - $15 Billion investment14) Kansas City - St. Louis HSR - $19 Billion investment15) Chicago-Indianapolis HSR - $17 Billion investment

4) coordinate on tOD planning

Work with local cities and jurisdictions to plan Transit Oriented Development around stations to maximize community and economic development opportunities including affordable living options. TOD delivers both affordable housing and affordable transportation by bringing together the benefits of direct rail access, walkable neighborhoods, city revitalization, suburban renewal, regional planning, and smart growth. By directly coordinating the land development around high speed rail stations, maximum community, walkability, affordability, placemaking, and real estate benefits can be delivered to the residents.
_________________________________

5) Work with aviation to reshape travel

Coordinate with aviation planning at the federal level for the phased replacement of short-haul flights with high speed rail, while extending high speed rail connections to major airport hubs. Encourage partnerships with airlines on combined tickets for trips with part of the journey on a train and part on an airplane. This begins to reshape and rationalize the US domestic travel market. This will make traveling easier, faster, and greener for the traveling public, while also benefiting the airlines and airports who can better utilize their equipment and spaces for longer distance flights.
_________________________________
The 15 projects shown above are important pieces of the national network that will deliver immediate job benefits across numerous regions of the country, followed by new mobility and employment opportunities when the trains start running. The 15 projects benefit 23 states, red and blue, rural and urban, in a variety of diverse regions, and will help America bounce back quickly from the pandemic and economic depression, and set the nation up for a prosperous and sustainable future The US High Speed Rail Association is a membership organization that has been advocating for a national state-of-the-art high speed rail network since our founding in 2009, showcasing the many benefits high speed rail will bring to the American people.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
sign up for news