America should not have a world-class passenger rail system. America should have a world-aweing passenger rail system. Rail travel is central to American history.  In fact, one reason our railways are so technologically behind those in other countries—where bullet trains reach speeds of 300+ km/hour—is that we Yanks started laying track so early.

However, that’s only one reason. Other reasons include private sector profit impatience (no appreciation for long-term business goals) and a lack of political will to drive public investment. These all fall into the category Failure of Vision: people of vision no longer control the resources in the United States. We should really do something to remedy that, but in the meantime let me offer a new vision for US rail travel, which I call “One America.” Continue reading →