Obama's Magic Bullet Train

The Interstate Highway System was the largest public works project in history. Built by President Eisenhower in the name of national security, it stitched together the United States, midwifed the post-war economic boom, and brought mobility to the masses. It also cemented America's love affair with cars and the open road.

Now, in the name of jobs but with the aim of sustainable transport, President Obama has unveiled the highway system's spiritual successor - high-speed rail. After decades of neglect, the White House announced on Thursday that it was investing $8 billion to jump start high-speed rail construction across the U.S.

The grants, which were tucked into last year's stimulus bill, will flow to 13 passenger rail corridors in 31 states. The big winners: California got $2.3 billion to break ground on an 800-mile high-speed line connecting L.A. and San Diego to Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay area; Florida received $1.25 billion to tie Tampa with Orlando and eventually Miami; and Illinois-Missouri was granted $1.1 billion to overhaul an existing line between St. Louis and Chicago to accommodate trains traveling up to 110 mph.

To compete with airplanes, high-speed lines must connect densely populated areas no more than 500 miles apart. Bullet trains will never replace planes at the national level, but they do have huge potential for tying together regional cities. Laying the necessary track, however, is an exorbitantly expensive and long-term proposition, which is why it requires government funding.

None of the grants comes close to covering the total cost of any route; they're intended to get things moving. On top of the funding challenge, each route faces unique practical and political obstacles. It sounds daunting, but with enough political support, HSR is far from impossible.

Japan, France, and other European countries have enjoyed high-speed rail for decades. We're just barely playing catch up: Only the Florida and California lines boast a maximum speed over 150 mph, the threshold that gets you into the "high-speed" club. France's TGV averages 173 mph with a max speed of 200 mph.

In the funding race, China is leaving everyone in the dust: by 2020, the country plans to channel an astounding $300 billion into dedicated high-speed-rail corridors.

Compared to that level of bling, everything looks puny. But given how long high-speed rail has been ghettoized in the national debate over transportation policy, and given the huge pot of money on offer, Obama's plan is major step forward.

Let's take a look at the substance.

First, the economics. The Obama administration is selling the initiative as an immediate jobs-creator. They claim the projects will generate tens of thousands of new jobs in planning, engineering, track laying, manufacturing, rail operations and maintenance. The idea, though, is to use these jobs to build a solid foundation for long-term economic prosperity, laying down a new layer of transport infrastructure that will integrate regions, expand mobility, and boost commerce.

Then, of course, there are the environmental perks. By getting cars off the road and keeping some planes grounded, high-speed rail will reduce congestion in major cities and begin sucking the oil out of our transportation system. This shift will curb our energy dependence while slashing millions of tons of greenhouse emissions. High-speed rail is a major step in the direction of an electrified transportation system, a necessary - if not sufficient - part of averting catastrophic climate change.

And, by "providing a framework for future fill-in development along its corridors," HSR could also redirect future urban growth away from sprawl and toward compact, sustainable cities.

So let's finally build the other half of our transportation system, the one that Eisenhower neglected. Bring on the bullet trains!

Photo credit: MJTR