Is High-Speed Rail Hitting The Fast Track In The Near Future?
Empty railroad tracks stand at the CSX Oak Point Yard, a freight railroad yard in the Bronx borough of New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Empty railroad tracks stand at the CSX Oak Point Yard, a freight railroad yard in the Bronx borough of New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesAirline customers are dealing with delays, cancellations, and sky-high ticket prices. Airfares have gone up 25 percent in the last year. That's according to the Consumer Price Index. And highways across the country remain congested, even as many expand.
The average U.S. driver spent 42 hours, or a full work week, in traffic congestion last year. That's according to a report by INRIX, a transportation analytics firm.
Enter trains.
A record number of people are hitting the tracks. While passenger trains have been a common mode of transportation for centuries, the country has never had a dedicated high-speed rail line.
That's expected to change in the next few years with two high-speed rail lines currently under construction in the Southwest and several more in planning phases across the country.
How could high-speed rail change the landscape of transportation in our country?
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