High-speed rail in the United States

High-speed rail in the United States dates back to the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. Various state and federal proposals have followed. Despite being one of the world's first countries to get high-speed trains (the Metroliner service in 1969), they are still limited to the East Coast and the Midwest of the United States. Definitions of what constitutes high-speed rail vary. Though some institutions classify high-speed rail as trains with speeds over 124 mph (200 km/h), the United States Department of Transportation defines high-speed rail as trains with a top speed of 110 mph (177 km/h) and above. Inter-city rail with top speeds between 90 and 110 mph (140 and 180 km/h) is referred to in the United States as higher-speed rail, though some states choose to define high-speed rail with top speeds above 90 mph (140 km/h). The New York Times and Al Jazeera, however, do not consider the United States to have any high-speed rail.

Amtrak's Acela, operating between Washington, DC and Boston, MA, is North America's fastest high-speed rail service, reaching 150–160 mph (240–260 km/h) on a total of 50 miles (80 km) of track along the Northeast Corridor. Between Washington, DC and New York City, the Acela operates at an average speed of 82 mph (132 km/h). NextGen Acela reaches top speeds of 160 mph (255 km/h) on 35 miles (56 km) of its 457-mile (735 km) route. The Times said the NexGen Acela was "not, however, meaningfully faster, and still lag[ging] far behind high-speed rail in countries like China, Japan and France, where trains can surpass 200 mph." Speeds are limited by the age of the Northeast Corridor's infrastructure and catenary wires.

Amtrak's Northeast Regional service, while slower than the Acela, reaches a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) on some portions of its route, with an average speed of more than 67 mph (108 km/h). With more than 12 million riders in 2025, the Northeast Regional is Amtrak's most popular high-speed train.

In total, Amtrak's high-speed services (Acela, Northeast Regional, Lincoln Service, etc.) achieved a historical ridership of about 22 million passengers, 64% of Amtrak's total ridership in 2025.

Florida's Brightline is the first privately owned high-speed rail company in the United States. Brightline trains achieve a top speed of 125 mph (201 km/h) along 20 miles (32 km) of newly built track, though most of the route is limited to a top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h) due to the presence of grade crossings, with speeds at 79 mph (127 km/h) or less in urban areas.

Brightline West, another venture of Brightline, is currently under construction between the Las Vegas Valley and Rancho Cucamonga in the Greater Los Angeles area. Trains will reach a top speed of 200 mph (320 km/h) and service is expected to begin in September 2029.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority is working on the California High-Speed Rail project, connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. Construction is underway on sections traversing the Central Valley, though no track had been laid as of late 2025. The Central Valley section of the California High-Speed Rail, between Merced and Bakersfield, will have a maximum speed of 220 mph (350 km/h) and is planned to begin passenger service by 2030.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.