# Amtrak and high-speed rail travel



## LookingGlassTie (Aug 24, 2017)

Hey guys,

I know that here at AU and elsewhere, there has been much support for more high-speed rail service provided by Amtrak. Which involves, among other things, getting support from Amtrak itself, as well as trying to persuade the host railroads to upgrade their infrastructures to accommodate it.

Here's what I think:

We should have a healthy combination of conventional and HS rail service. Because some people take the train to enjoy the scenery around them, while others want to take it to get to where they're going (this is kind of where the Acela comes in). I think Amtrak could benefit from more high-speed rail service, but I want the conventional trains to remain also. Some people look to Europe's and Asia's HS trains and say "Amtrak should be like this". But it's kinda hard to take in the scenery when it's whizzing by you.

I know that it won't happen overnight even if everyone's "on-board" (pun intended), but it's my take on it.

$0.02

LGT


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## JohannFarley (Aug 24, 2017)

I would have to agree to this. Having taken the northeast regional several times from NJ to Boston or Washington, i would agree that it would be a great idea to make the NEC as high speed as possible, which im sure will be easier as tech advances.

On the other hand, having recently taken the LSL for the first time, i believe that the fundamental Amtrak/American railroading experience lies with the scenic and slower long distance routes. I that aspect, i believe that they could be sped up, but that in itself is a can of worms so ill leave that. The point being that long distance route dont need to be high speed because a plane is going to be faster from NYC to Chicago or LA unless its going to take less than 5 hours to get to either by train, which, barring a fully new construction of a direct high-speed route, is seemingly impossible.

My other take on this is that there are several places in the US that could have "corridor" service like on the NEC, but that is a story for a different thread.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Amtrak Forum mobile app


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## Green Maned Lion (Aug 25, 2017)

Oy gevaldt.


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