This is by now means a novel thought. A linked megaregional transit
network is taken for granted in Britain, Japan, and most of the world’s
industrialized countries. The German railway actually offers a trip
planner for the entire country: any bus, light rail, subway, commuter
rail, or regional rail stop in the country to any other.
We had this kind of network in the United States once, too. We let
much of it disappear, and the rest has been divvied up by a confusing
array of local, regional, statewide, and national agencies. The
separation between Amtrak and commuter rail, for example, is arbitrary:
commuters can ride Amtrak and intercity travelers can ride commuter
rail. But federal law distinguishes between the two. The result is a
fragmented network, one that can be hard to comprehend in its totality.
But now that we are talking about high speed rail, our existing
networks become relevant. High speed rail wants feeders. Some riders
will arrive by car and depart by taxi, but there’s no doubt that good
local and regional transit connections make megareigonal high speed rail
more relevant. And, make no mistake, high speed rail is an
interregional mode. It’s cities less than 3 hours — 600 miles or so —
apart where high speed rail is most effective. Houston to Dallas makes
sense. Houston to Chicago doesn’t.
So let’s take inventory.
The closest the United States gets to megareigonal transit is in the
Northeast. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, the fastest railroad in the
Western Hemisphere, links Boston to New York to Philadelphia to
Baltimore to Washington.
more about urban transportation in the USA:
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