In the near future, I will introduce a resolution urging Congress to pass the American High Speed Rail Act. High speed rail, an afterthought in many European and Asian countries, remains undeveloped in the United States. Pennsylvania sits at the heart of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, the busiest rail corridor in the U.S., and would be prime real estate for federal investments into high-speed rail. Such investments would create jobs and bolster economic growth, revolutionize our state’s rail infrastructure, reduce congestion on highways and at airports, and improve regional connectivity while reducing our carbon footprint. 

The American High Speed Rail Act would set definitions for high speed rail (186+ mph) and would establish public-private partnership frameworks to maximize federal investment, with an eye towards environmentally sustainable transportation and transit-oriented development. Pennsylvania would be a significant beneficiary of such federal investment, and its abundant rail infrastructure and relatively straight rights-of-way would make it a leading contender to have the nation’s first high speed rail routes running along its tracks.

Please join me in cosponsoring this legislation.