Transportation is the backbone of America. In 1862, Congress passed The Pacific Railway Act to promote the construction of transcontinental railroads, cementing the US as the industrial powerhouse we know today. Later during the Cold War, Eisenhower enacted the Interstate Highway Act to strengthen the economy, spurring interstates across the country, increasing interconnectedness, and underpinning a 6 fold increase in our nation’s GDP.
Now, 70 years on, we are once again at crossroads. While our transportation system used to be an inspiration to others, it now ranks dead last in virtually every single category. 45 percent of Americans lack access to transit, 40 percent of roads are in poor condition (despite increased spending), and the US is only spending half of what is necessary on improvements.
Change is desperately needed. It’s time we welcome the next wage of manufacturing: High Speed Rail.
Not only does High Speed Rail revitalize the manufacturing sector by increasing demand for good paying manufacturing jobs, but I’d argue that the rail itself creates two positive effects for the American people.
High Speed Rail reduces congestion.
When looking at high-speed rail in France or China, one cannot help but feel embarrassed by America. The numbers speak for themselves: an 11-hour journey between New York and Chicago takes just 4.5 hours on China’s bullet trains.
Meanwhile, in America, 47 percent of our interstates are congested, 47 million trips are canceled every year, and drivers lose two and a half work weeks of time sitting in congestion
The lack of quality transit has left our roads congested, our cities polluted, and our economy strangled. As it stands, congestion will cost the economy $200 billion annually, and The ASCE contextualizes that if America does not expand its infrastructure, we will lose 10 trillion dollars in GDP and 3 million jobs by 2039.
Luckily, high-speed rail provides a comprehensive solution: Just one high-speed rail corridor can carry 400,000 people per day, providing 20 times the capacity of highways.
Added railway capacity translates to lower congestion. In the past, after the implementation of high speed rail, traffic fell by 8% in European countries. In the United States, a 4-9% reduction in traffic could reduce congestion by 50%, de-strangling our network of transportation.
High Speed Rail improves connectivity.
America is reorganizing itself around metropolitan clusters. Boston to Washington represents 20 percent of GDP while LA accounts for 10 percent. Smaller American cities are increasingly cut off from the national agenda and are destined to be abandoned.
The segregation of wealth has led to an academic consensus revolving around rural poverty. Indeed, rural counties account for 84% of places struggling with persistent poverty and numerous health and education disparities.
However, by superseding the dilapidated transportation system we now have, with a new vibrant and efficient model, HSR can improve connectivity. In China, HSR improved connectivity nationally by 167 percent.
Increased connectivity redistributes development. High Speed Rail develops commerce in third tier and lower cities, allowing workers to live away from metropolitan clusters because HSR allows them to commute back to the city in a much faster time.
Above interconnectedness, by making it easier for workers to move in and out of cities, high-speed rail shifts demand for property from the higher-cost cities to the lower-cost suburbs and rural areas.
In Japan, high-speed rail cut land prices by 33 percent helping to reduce poverty because access to affordable housing is the most effective strategy for reducing childhood poverty and increasing economic mobility.
It is for all these reasons that in Italy, by increasing transport accessibility for towns and cities along the HSR network, regional inequalities decreased 29 percent while per capita GDP increased 6.2 percent.
The initial cost of High Speed Rail might be high, but the cost of not investing are even higher. Our population will grow by 100 million in the coming decades, and generations of disinvestment are catching up to us. Should we allow our global competitors to pull ahead of us permanently, or should we invest in resilient infrastructure that will serve Americans for decades to come?
Work Citied
Jacobs, H. (no date) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez included high-speed rail in her Green New Deal. after riding China's superfast bullet train that could go from New York to Chicago in 4.5 hours, it's clear how far behind the US really is, Business Insider. Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-bullet-train-speed-map-photos-tour-2018-5 (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
Condon, H. (2019) Study: Road congestion cost U.S. economy $30 billion, 248,000 jobs in 2018, U.S. Travel Association. Available at: https://www.ustravel.org/press/study-road-congestion-cost-us-economy-30-billion-248000-jobs-2018 (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
Bradford, B. (2019) Report: The average American spends the equivalent of 2.5 work weeks in traffic, Marketplace. Available at: https://www.marketplace.org/2019/02/13/report-average-american-spends-equivalent-25-work-weeks-traffic/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
ASCE's 2021 American Infrastructure Report Card: GPA: C- (2023) ASCE's 2021 Infrastructure Report Card |. Available at: https://infrastructurereportcard.org/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
B.4 – High Speed Rail Systems: The Geography of Transport Systems (2021) The Geography of Transport Systems | The spatial organization of transportation and mobility. Available at: https://transportgeography.org/contents/applications/high-speed-rail-systems/ (Accessed: February 23, 2023).
Congestion and mobility issues (no date) U.S. Department of Transportation. Available at: https://www.transportation.gov/testimony/congestion-and-mobility-issues (Accessed: February 23, 2023).