Obama for High Speed Rail

Obama has recently announced his plans for the government to heavily invest in High Speed Rail (HSR). His package includes $8 billion for high-speed rail to be spent over two years and an additional $1 billion a year being budgeted over the next five years. He reasons for this large scale infrastructure investment:

"What we need, then, is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century, a system that reduces travel times and increases mobility, a system that reduces congestion and boosts productivity, a system that reduces destructive emissions and creates jobs.”

“Imagine whisking through towns at speeds over 100 miles an hour, walking only a few steps to public transportation, and ending up just blocks from your destination,” Mr. Obama said. “It is happening right now; it’s been happening for decades. The problem is, it’s been happening elsewhere, not here.”

Americas current HSR is basically non existent as Obama points out. In terms of public transportation America is lagging in many aspects. Highways are congested and airports are getting increasingly busier, all impacting on the economic growth of the country. His desire for HSR stems from how well overseas examples have worked such as China's HSR system and the TGV of France.

Ofcourse, from a planners perspective it can be argued that HSR could lead to more sprawl. It is universally agreed, that urban living and compact cities are a more sustainable option than sprawl. HSR could encourage more people to leave the urban area and further influence suburban sprawl, creating more land and energy usage. However with appropriate land use policies in place, sprawl can be curtailed and rather the focus can be placed on Transport Orientated Development, that is building communities close to points of transit - limiting sprawl and encouraging more sustainable practises such as walking to transit points.

Under one of many of Obamas strokes of genius - public transport investment - one of the first initiatives of the HSR package is occurring in the Golden State of California. They have received $2.3 billion in funds to build an 800mile system that spans from San Diego to San Fransisco. This line is envisioned to provide many jobs, positive environmental benefits as well as decreasing the States dependence on oil.

The following videos are of respectively the graphical demonstration of the proposed California line, and the Business Plan of California's High Speed Rail Authority.

Developments in this groundbreaking USA project will be interesting to follow.