Will Federal Stimulus Money Spark a High-Speed Rail Renaissance in the U.S.?

By Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American

The drive for energy conservation coupled with the recession has the U.S. switching policy tracks with its push to develop a high-speed rail transportation network. But does it have enough engineering expertise to do it right?

Although so-called bullet trains in France can travel at speeds approaching 575 kilometers per hour, their adoption in the U.S. has been more local than express. Now, 140 years after the transcontinental railroad's nearly 2,900 kilometers of track first connected both U.S. coasts, a number of states are hoping for a second golden age of rail, this time fueled by the Obama administration's pledge of billions of stimulus dollars for high-speed railway development.

To read more, go to Scientific American at www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=high-speed-rail