‘The time is right’ for US to catch up on high-speed rail, says British Amtrak exec

With half a dozen US rail projects in the works, Andy Byford thinks Americans will soon clamor for 200mph train lines

After years of dashed hopes, delays and the all-consuming dominance of the car and airplane, high-speed trains may finally be about to have their breakthrough moment in the United States, according to one of the country's top rail executives.

Half a dozen high-speed rail projects across the US are currently planned or have already started construction, with a gush of federal infrastructure dollars, a supportive White House, and rising angst over snarled highways and the climate crisis all helping bring the prospect of bullet trains, belatedly, closer than ever before to the American public.