High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States A report prepared for National Railroad Passenger Corporation December 2008 High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States final report prepared for National Railroad Passenger Corporation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. with SYSTRA Consulting, Inc. December 2008 www.camsys.com final report High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States prepared for National Railroad Passenger Corporation prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 9015 Mountain Ridge, Suite 210 Austin, Texas 78759 with SYSTRA Consulting, Inc December 2008 High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. ES-1 1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Context for the Study............................................................................................ 1-1 1.2 Key Players............................................................................................................. 1-2 1.3 Process and Products of This Report.................................................................. 1-2 1.4 A Word about Definitions.................................................................................... 1-3 2.0 Description of Corridors Studied.............................................................................. 2-1 2.1 The Federal HSR Designation Process ............................................................... 2-1 2.2 Northern New England HSR Corridor .............................................................. 2-3 2.3 Empire HSR Corridor........................................................................................... 2-3 2.4 Northeast Corridor Mainline............................................................................... 2-3 2.5 Keystone HSR Corridor........................................................................................ 2-4 2.6 Southeast HSR Corridor....................................................................................... 2-4 2.7 Florida HSR Corridor ........................................................................................... 2-4 2.8 Gulf Coast HSR Corridor ..................................................................................... 2-4 2.9 South Central HSR Corridor................................................................................ 2-5 2.10 Chicago Hub Network Corridor......................................................................... 2-5 2.11 Pacific Northwest HSR Corridor......................................................................... 2-5 2.12 California HSR Corridor ...................................................................................... 2-5 3.0 Information Collection................................................................................................ 3-1 3.1 FRA and Amtrak Interview Sessions ................................................................. 3-1 3.2 Corridor Stakeholder Interview Sessions .......................................................... 3-2 3.3 Corridor Success Elements from Amtrak Interviews ...................................... 3-2 3.4 Corridor Development Factors Highlighted in Interviews .................................. 3-4 4.0 Corridor Evaluation ..................................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Evaluation Metrics................................................................................................ 4-1 4.2 HSR Corridor Evaluation Coding....................................................................... 4-8 4.3 Individual HSR Corridor Assessments.............................................................. 4-10 5.0 Key Findings................................................................................................................. 5-1 5.1 Impediments to HSR Development.................................................................... 5-1 5.2 Delineation of HSR Benefits ................................................................................ 5-6 5.3 Characteristics of Successful Corridors.............................................................. 5-7 6.0 Action Items................................................................................................................... 6-1 6.1 Federal Funding for HSR ..................................................................................... 6-1 6.2 Resolve Impediments........................................................................................... 6-3 6.3 Equip and Prepare States for HSR Projects ....................................................... 6-6 6.4 Comparison of Action Items to PRIIA ............................................................... 6-7 Appendix A: Fact Sheets i 8006.001 High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States List of Tables 4.1 Evaluation Criteria Applied to Corridors ................................................................. 4-1 6.1 Comparison of Action Steps to PRIIA........................................................................ 6-8 iii High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States List of Figures 1.1 Amtrak Track Standards and Safety Regulations Summary.................................. 1-6 2.1 U.S. DOT Designated High-Speed Rail Corridors ................................................... 2-2 4.1 Status of U.S. High-Speed Rail Development........................................................... 4-9 4.2 The NECHSR Corridor................................................................................................. 4-11 4.3 The California HSR Corridor Conceptual Alignment ............................................. 4-12 4.4 The Chicago Hub Network HSR Corridor................................................................ 4-13 4.5 The SEHSR Corridor..................................................................................................... 4-14 4.6 The PNWHSR Corridor ............................................................................................... 4-15 4.7 The Keystone HSR Corridor........................................................................................ 4-16 4.8 The Empire HSR Corridor ........................................................................................... 4-17 4.9 The NNEHSR Corridor ................................................................................................ 4-18 4.10 The Gulf Coast HSR Corridor ..................................................................................... 4-19 4.11 The Florida HSR Corridor ........................................................................................... 4-20 4.12 The South Central HSR Corridor................................................................................ 4-21 v High-Speed Rail: A National Perspective High-Speed Rail Experience in the United States Executive Summary ES.1 Introduction and Context The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) established a proc- ess for designating U.S. high-speed rail (HSR) corridors. Since that time, a total of 11 HSR corridors have been designated, but none has yet approached the operational status of high-speed rail as originally envisioned. In spite of slower than anticipated progress, the desire for high-speed rail has remained present in the national consciousness, particularly within Congress. Seventeen years following the passage of ISTEA, Congressional com- plaints about America’s failure to match foreign progress in high-speed rail are more than mere envy of the successes achieved in those countries. They represent frustration that the national vision implicit in ISTEA – that the United States would be making progress toward bringing about European style high-speed rail – has failed to fully take hold. Amtrak commissioned this study to help identify the trends and prospects for improved service – in terms of operating speeds, frequency, and reliability – in rail corridors around the country. The goal of the study was to produce a summary of the lessons learned from the corridor improvement projects across the country and to develop criteria that might describe corridors most likely to succeed with high-speed rail improvements. This report examines progress being made in 11 HSR corridors, including the Northeast Corridor (NEC) from Boston to Washington, D.C., and presents evaluation criteria to measure relative progress being made in various corridors. The report also provides an in-depth profile of each designated corridor in Appendix A, which consists of fact sheets that con- tain a description of each corridor, a summary based on stakeholder and agency interviews, and the application of evaluation criteria to each corridor. The report offers a synthesis of observations and recommendations, which have applica- tions for future legislative efforts to advance high-speed rail and for future study. A series of observations describe key findings about factors that inhibit high-speed rail develop- ment, benefits that would accrue if high-speed were developed, common elements necessary for high-speed rail corridors,