If the country were serious about building high-speed rail, the national project would take about one decade. How would this be possible? The solution is to convert one left and one right highway lane to rail and require long haul trucking to travel by rail. Of course, freight rail would have to be modernized and expanded. Neither project would be a massive undertaking because most of the necessary infrastructure is in place, as are access roads.
The reality is that all the talk flowing out of Washington DC, state capitals, city activists, and universities have no genuine interest in bringing in high-speed rail. The money flowing from special interests to corrupt bureaucrats and academia dampens any serious activity to free the nation of dependence on cars, trucks, and aircraft—greater efficiency in transportation results in fewer jobs, less fuel needed, less road and vehicle maintenance. So none of us in the United States need plan on the USA.catching up with the rest of the world.