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Atlanta-Chattanooga High-Speed Rail
- 110 mile connection between two cities may be provided by traditional high-speed rail or by maglev
- May be extended north to Nashville and south to Macon
- Stalled project would allow for 30-minute commute times from Washington’s Union Station to Baltimore’s Penn Station
- Would allow 15-minute commute times to BWI Airport from each city center
- 329.4-mile route
- 110-mph maximum speed, because service above 110-mph required more advanced highway/rail crossings that would significantly increase cost; even higher-speed service would require the elimination of curve speed restrictions, which would basically require the creation of a new right-of-way
- Would run through Manchester, Nashua, and Concord New Hampshire and Montpelier and Burlington, Vermont
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Connecting Montréal to the American Rail Network, 3 August 2009.
California High-Speed Rail – Partially Funded
- 500-mile route in first phase would connect San Francisco with Anaheim, via San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Los Angeles
- Paid for by federal grants as well as a $10 billion state bond passed by referendum in 2008
- Federal government has thus far committed $2.25 billion to the project; much more is needed for construction to begin
- Future phases would extend system from Fresno north to Sacramento and from Los Angeles south to San Diego
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Federal Funds for CAHSR, 6 November 2008; HSR: Public or Private?, 22 December 2008; Transbay Likely to be One of Two San Francisco Stations on HSR, 11 April 2009.
California-Nevada Interstate Maglev
- 269-mile route would connect Las Vegas with Anaheim, using Maglev technology
- Has received some federal funds but is unlikely to move forward at this time
Cascades Corridor – Partially Funded
- Goal is to increase service to 110 mph, connecting Portland and Seattle in 2h30 rather than 3h30 today
- Increase in number of daily round trips from four today to 13
- Federal government has committed $590 million towards upgrading track between termini
- Oregon DOT is working on increasing speeds between Portland and Eugene to 110 mph as well, increasing daily round trips from two to six, and reducing trip time from 2h35 to 1h55; total cost would be $2.1 billion
- 190-mile route would connect Victorville, California to Las Vegas using traditional high-speed rail
- Would be privately built and operated
- Total travel time would be 1h20 and costs would be $3 billion
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Las Vegas-L.A. Route Now A Designated Corridor, 2 July 2009.
Florida High-Speed Rail – Partially Funded
- Plan received support from voters in a 2000 referendum, but another referendum in 2004 cut off funds; project has since been restarted
- Obama Administration dedicated support for the project in 2009, agreeing to a total investment of $1.25 billion
- State needs more than $1 billion more to complete project
- Will use electric technology on dedicated corridor
- First phase will connect Orlando and Tampa along 84 mile-line; later routes could expand system to Miami, Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Pensacola
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: The Fatal Flaw of Florida High-Speed Rail, 22 July 2009.
Georgia Rail Passenger Program
- In 2000, state developed a list of corridors to receive intercity rail treatment (portions of which would include commuter rail
- Atlanta-Greenville (SC)
- Atlanta-Athens
- Atlanta-Augusta
- Atlanta-Senoia
- Atlanta-Bremen
- Atlanta-Canton
- Atlanta-Macon-Savannah
- Macon-Jesup
- Savannah-Jesup-Jacksonville (FL)
- Macon-Albany
- Griffin-Columbus
- Program currently has no funding, but state has done engineering studies on a number of corridors, which could be implemented if the state decided to invest
Midwest High-Speed Rail – Partially Funded
- Works on the assumption that the best way to move forward is through the slow but steady improvement of existing tracks, eventually leading to high-speed rail.
- Would provide service to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri
- Federal government has provided some funding:
- $1.1 billion for Chicago-St. Louis corridor upgrade to 110 mph
- $810 million for implementation of initial rail services along Madison-Milwaukee line
- $244 million for improvements of line between Chicago and Pontiac
- Initial phase – Illinois Fast Track – would provide improved service in that state, centering around Chicago’s Union Station hub, to be completed by 2015
- Milwaukee to Madison portion website
- Indiana portions website
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Midwest HSR Wants Stimulus Funds, 14 January 2009; Wisconsin Plots Rail Expansion, 23 March 2009; Midwest Wants $3.5 Billion for HSR, 14 April 2009; Chicago-St. Louis Should Not be a Minimal Investment, 23 June 2009.
- Proposes both high-speed and standard-speed rail
- High-speed corridor:
- New York City – Albany – Utica – Syracuse – Rochester – Buffalo
- Standard-speed corridors:
- Albany – Plattsburgh – Montreal (Canada)
- Potsdam – Watertown – Syracuse – Binghampton – Scranton (PA) – New York City
- Buffalo – Niagara Falls – Toronto (Canada)
- Total program, with conversion to true high-speed rail or maglev on main New York – Albany – Buffalo corridor, would cost $8-10 billion and be completed by 2025
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: New York HSR Floats Ahead, 19 January 2009; New York Officially Announces Rail Push, 9 March 2009.
- In September 2010, Amtrak announced that it was considering a 220 mph new high-speed line between Boston and Washington, to be completed by 2030
- The project would cost a total of $117 billion in year-of-expenditure dollars
- This would allow 3-hour trip times between Washington and Boston, radically changing the manner in which people move throughout the Northeast Corridor
- There is no funding currently allocated to the project
- Plan is for the development of a 80-mph line from Cleveland to Cincinnati, via Columbus and Dayton
- Route has not seen rail service since 1971; federal passenger rail funds will help pay for the corridor’s development
- Currently undergoing planning, the line would likely be run under contract by Amtrak in a similar fashion to North Carolina’s Piedmont line
- Federal government has committed $400 million towards line’s implementation
- Has received support of state governor as priority for rail development
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Prioritizing Ohio’s 3C Line, 29 January 2009.
- Project would develop a consolidated high(er)-speed rail system connecting Ohio’s largest cities
- New diesel trains running at 79 to 110-mph would allow competition with automobiles but not air travel
- Connections to:
- Keystone Corridor at Pittsburgh
- Midwest High-Speed Rail Network at Cincinnati, Detroit, and Toledo
- Via Rail Canada at Detroit and Toronto
- Empire Corridor at Buffalo
- Lines (total 1,244 miles, 46 stations) would be as follows:
- Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati
- Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit
- Cleveland-Pittsburgh
- Cleveland-Erie-Buffalo-Niagara Falls-Hamilton-Toronto
- Columbus-Pittsburgh
- Columbus-Toledo
- Columbus-Fort Wayne-(Chicago via Midwest HSR)
- Each line would run at a frequency of 8-10 trains daily
- Phasing would begin with the Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati route
- $4 billion cost for a 79-mph system; $4.9 billion cost for a 110-mph system
- 54-mile project, using maglev technology, would connect Pittsburgh with Pittsburgh Airport to the west and Monroeville and Greensburg to the east
- Entire route could be run in 35 minutes
- Has received some federal funds but is currently unlikely
Québec-Windsor High-Speed Rail
- Would improve service along route, via Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, and London.
- Would allow for future connections to New York High-Speed Rail at Hamilton (from Buffalo) and Montréal and Midwest High-Speed Rail at Windsor (from Detroit)
- Another site
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Canada Reconsiders HSR Corridor, 25 February 2009; Conservatives Downplay HSR Link, 19 March 2009.
Southeast High-Speed Rail – Partially Funded
- Would provide service initially from Washington, D.C. to Charlotte, N.C., via Richmond, Petersburg, Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro, with a spur line from Petersburg to Hampton Roads
- Future extensions would connect Charlotte with Atlanta, Raleigh with Columbia and Savannah, Atlanta with Macon, Savannah, and Jacksonville
- Federal government has committed $620 million towards upgrades of tracks between Charlotte and Raleigh; the acquisition of a new corridor between Raleigh and Petersburg; and the construction of new tracks in Northern Virginia
- Trains would run at a maximum of 110 mph with diesel locomotives, connecting Charlotte to Washington in six to seven hours
- Construction could begin by 2012
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Southeast HSR Advances, 9 January 2009.
- Would connect Dallas-Ft. Worth with San Antonio, via Austin, with a spur line from Temple to Houston
- Would run with 200-mph electric trains
- Replaces mid-90s Texas TGV plan that defaulted after opposition from legislature and airlines
- Independent group
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Texas T-Bone Pitched to Legislature, 29 January 2009.
- Virginians for HSR
- Relevant article on the Transport Politic: Virginia Expands Rail Service, 3 April 2009.
- Would improve service on the following corridors (associated with Southeast High-Speed Rail Program):
- Washington – Fredericksburg – Richmond
- Richmond – Petersburg
- Richmond – Williamsburg – Newport News
- Petersburg – Norfolk/Virginia Beach
- Trans Dominion Express
- Washington – Charlottesville – Lynchburg – Roanoke – Bristol
- Richmond – Lynchburg
- Overall cost for corridor upgrades would be about $120 million
- Trip from Washington to Bristol would take 7h45
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