Amtrak

In the midst of all the high speed rail talk, our current service has received little attention. Amtrak has continued to operate under the radar. It has one solid advantage over any new proposal: the tracks are in place, and the trains are running. Slowly.

One problem is that Amtrak owns very little trackage, for the most part operating on freight railroad lines. Heavy freight traffic wears down the rails and makes them unsafe for high speed service. And, while it is federal law that Amtrak trains have the right of way over freight shipments, passenger trains are often delayed for long periods on side tracks. Consequently, Amtrak can only operate fast service on tracks they own, most notably on the Northeast Corridor (Boston-New York-Washington D.C.), where Acela service can reach 125mph. Outside of that line, most trains are limited to 79mph.

Is it possible to upgrade antiquated tracks and equipment to speeds that would make train travel competitive, while still sharing tracks with freight companies? New work to rebuild tracks in Michigan is under way, which will enable 110 mph service on Amtrak's Wolverine between Chicago and Detroit. Similar upgrades have been completed in Illinois between Chicago and St. Louis. The approach has been piecemeal, but the improvements to our existing lines can help Amtrak function expediently and efficiently, at a lower cost than entirely new infrastructure.