America’s rail infrastructure has fallen far behind the rest of the world’s. Here’s how to fix that, and a few other problems along the way.
Under FDR’s leadership, the federal government pulled the United States out of the Great Depression, in part, by funding ambitious public works programs. Now we’re in the midst of another severe depression, calling for another round of big thinking and big investment.
What better priority to focus on than building a network of high speed, clean energy trains? Such an infrastructure would be a triple win:
- revolutionize transportation in the US,
- drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and
- create a vast array of new jobs.
I know what you’re saying - dream on, Marc, that’ll never happen. But check out the article below about major advances by a Dutch company, promising safe, clean, and efficient 600 mph trains. Can you imagine what we could accomplish by focusing our resources on this problem with the same intensity we brought to sending a man to the Moon?
A 600 mpg train would enable travel from New York to Washington D.C. in thirty minutes and a cross country journey in four hours.
After Joe Biden takes the oath of office, this should be a domestic priority. I can’t think of a better way to restart our economy, reduce our collective climate footprint, and build something of lasting value for future generations.
Plans for a new form of transportation are well underway, suggesting that by 2040 we might have a more efficient and environmentally friendly way to travel.