HIGH-SPEED RAIL FULL SPEED AHEAD

High-speed rail development has followed different paths in the U.S. and Western Europe, due to variations in underlying government policies, geography, the nature of the existing transportation infrastructure, and the way in which that infrastructure is used. In Europe, rail has played a preeminent role in domestic intercity passenger service--more important than the automobile and airplane. Europeans perceived earlier than Americans the benefits that an efficient rail system could provide in congeston relief, environmental improvement, energy conservation, urban preservation, and personal mobility. In the U.S., however, rail was left to fend for itself, mainly due to America's history of operating railroads as private enterprises. Subsidies granted to other transportation modes dilute the value and the potential of private participation in rail ventures. The 1991 Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act is a starting point, bu the U.S. must eliminate the remaining obstacles to state and local use of federal funds where rail projects offer the best solution.