American ingenuity and the backbreaking work of countless workers led to the creation of railways throughout the U.S. An unprecedented revolution in forms of travel allowed for people to travel from one end of the country to the other in a more comfortable, and faster way than ever before. Although in the year 2016, Americans have more options to travel than before, travel by train is still a necessity for many in America. As countries throughout the world have been updating and expanding their rail systems, we’ve been left back at the station. Investing in our rail systems can help to create jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, make travel safer, and get back on track like many of our allies.
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The state of California has been a trailblazer in rebuilding American high speed rail. When pitching the investment, California Governor Jerry Brown highlights job creation through investing in high speed rail. Over the next five years, 20,000 jobs will be created annually. Many of those jobs will go to construction workers who may have fallen on hard times. High Speed Rail should be a bipartisan issue, investing can unite both progressives and conservatives. It involves government spending, but in a way that helps create jobs. High Speed Rail can lead to a more robust economy not just by creating jobs with the construction and maintenance of it, but also by allowing for people to travel to their work in other cities. A businessman in Detroit could get onto a high speed rail train going 200 MPH, be in Chicago in an hour and a half, and still be home for dinner with his family.
A recent poll found that a majority of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans-feel that our infrastructure has worsened and we need to increase spending in this area. The American Civil Society of Engineers recently gave America’s infrastructure a D+ rating. Railways play a major role in our infrastructure and they are in dire need of improvement. When our railways and bridges are underfunded, it can be dangerous. High Speed Rail could not only create a more efficient way to travel and benefit the economy, but it can also save lives. Implementing “positive train control” technology would allow for the train to be warned of hazardous conditions and take control of the train if the operator fails to. The National Transportation Safety Board studied this system and found that it could have prevented twenty five fatal train accidents in the past ten years. High Speed Rail can prevent prevent unnecessary tragedies.
When travel by train became the societal norm in America, it was an envy of the world. As time has progressed, many of our foreign allies have surpassed us in terms of travel. European countries have seen an increase in the efficiency and speed when it comes to traveling on high speed rail as opposed to in a vehicle. The Shinkansen, or “Bullet Train,” of Japan boasts of being safe and punctual while maintaining an average operating speed of 200 MPH. Some tests have gotten as record breaking fast as 375 MPH. Other countries spend the money needed on their infrastructure. The U.S. spends 2.5 percent of its GDP on infrastructure while Australia and Canada spend 3.9 percent, European countries average around 5 percent, and China varying between nine and 12 percent.
Our allies see the environmental benefits as well. High Speed rail doesn't use motor fuels and is powered by electricity. It creates less carbon emissions than automobiles or airplanes. Instead of traveling by car or plane, citizens of countries with high speed rail reduce their carbon footprint by traveling by train. Instead of flying between two countries, a family in London could travel to Paris in three hours. The pollutions caused by cars and planes, a necessary evil in many cases, can be reduced by commuters taking the train instead. As the world has learned so much from us, we can begin to learn from the world as well.
As we speed into the future, it is important for us as a country to adapt. Just as we forged a new path over a century and a half ago, it is time to overhaul our rail system. The benefits of high speed rail go beyond punctuality and speediness, it can create more jobs, improve the economy, and make travel safer. Now is not the time to be left back at the station.
