The Global High-Speed Rail Divide
While high-speed rail networks have fundamentally transformed transportation across Europe and Asia over the past five decades, the United States continues to lag behind, struggling to implement a unified, national high-speed train system. As of 2024, countries like China, Japan, and France operate thousands of miles of electrified, high-speed track, while the U.S. remains largely reliant on aging infrastructure and fragmented, slower regional rail services.
A Half-Century of Global Progress
The modern era of high-speed rail began in 1964 with the launch of Japan’s Shinkansen, or
