High speed trains are finally coming to the United States. It's been a long time coming, but thanks in part to funding from last years stimulus bill, 13 high speed rail lines may be up and operating as soon as 2025. Yes, in less than fifteen years, you may be able to take a bullet train from San Diego to San Francisco, or from St. Louis to Chicago.
Nearly an entire year ago, we first reported on Obama allotting $8 billion for rail funding in his stimulus bill, and some $5 billion more in his budget. Now, working with states, which are often matching those funds, Obama has finally unveiled how he plans on bringing the US up to speed.
Wired has a must-read feature that goes in depth into the future of American high speed rail, both in its current issue on the stands, and online. It's called Superfast Bullet Trains are Finally Coming to the US, and it's right. The graphic above shows the map of where the planned lines are going.
And here are the stats of the projections for each line, via Wired:
California
First Phase - San Francisco to Los Angeless
Ultimate Goal - Sacramento to San Dieago
Estimated Completion Date - 2025
Top Speed - 220 mph
Final Tab - $45B
Florida
First Phase - Tampa to Orlando
Ultimate Goal - Orlando to Miami
Estimated Completion Date - 2017
Top Speed- 180 mph
Final Tab - $11.5+B
Midwest
First Phase - Chicago to Madison, Detroit, and St. Louis.
Ultimate Goal - Hub-and-spoke network: 20 major cities using 3,000 miles of existing railway.
Estimated Completion Date - 2025
Top Speed - 110 mph
Final Tab - N/A
Texas
Ultimate Goal - "T-Bone" connecting Dallas/ Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Houston
Estimated Completion Date - 2020
Top Speed - 220 mph
Final Tab - $12-22B
Northeast
Ultimate Goal - Speed-boosting upgrades to existing lines to get Washington-to-Boston travel time down to five hours, 45 minutes.
Estimated Completion Date - 2023
Top Speed - 150 mph
Final Tab - $12B
Other lines will grace Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
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