The fact that transport is the backbone of economy is well-known to American authorities according to which, the US could not compete in a global economy unless they massively invest in the transport infrastructure, especially in the regions which link the large metropolises. Congestion, price and fuel volumes used for road transport and the negative environmental effects generated by polluting traffic are the main factors which determine the authorities to focus on establishing a new transport system-the development of a high-speed railway transport network. This transport mode is not new in the US, but the need for investments in this type of infrastructure becomes vital.
According to the new report on the future high-speed line network, launched at the Conference of Mayors in the US, (HSR Report Released by US Conference of Mayors-the Economic Impacts of High Speed Rail, elaborated by the Economic Development Research Group), 4 cities – Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando and Albany (New York), have been selected to represent the metropolitan areas of impact in the construction of high-speed lines. In all these cities, the introduction of railway high-speed transport services will create new jobs, will develop the business environment and will add value to the regional GDP. “By 2035, high-speed transport can bring annual investments of USD 255 Million in the Orlando Region, USD 360 Million in the Los Angeles Region , USD 50 Million in Chicago and over USD 100 Million in Albany”, the report shows.
For the Los Angeles metropolitan area with 12.9 million residents, the construction of 500 miles of new lines (804 km) is proposed in the first phase. According to the High-Speed Railway Transport Autho-rity in California, 56 trains/day will be put in service to connect the north to the south. The traffic volume is expected to reach 120 thousand passengers/day by 2025. Phase two includes additional high-speed lines between Merced and Sacramento and
Union Station and San Diego and other cities. Plans include the establishment of a business sector that will generate revenues of USD 7.6 Billion/year, while the regional GDP will bring USD 4.3 Billion. Across the region, 12.3 million passengers are expected to use these services by 2035.
Chicago is located in the centre of the US economic region, with a population of 2.8 million and a metropolitan area with 9.5 million residents. High-speed railways are already in plan for construction and federal funds have already been allocated: 1.St. Louis, 2.Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis and 3.Detroit; the long-term strategy includes Indianapolis and Cincinnati, Des Moines and Omaha and Cleveland. With the construction of the Minneapolis – St. Louis line, the regional GDP could record increases of USD 3.6 Billion per year.
In Orlando, the first phase of Florida’s high-speed system consists in the development of a line which links Orlando to Tampa. The line is expected to be put in ser-vice in 2015. For this project, the state has received a financial stimulus of USD 1.25 Billion to support the payment of a USD 3.5 Billion contract for the construction of 86 miles of infrastructure (138 km). Phase 2 consists in the delivery of services from Orlando to Miami (230 miles or 370 km) for which two options are considered. The investments amount to USD 8 Billion.
Albany (capital of New York) is the home city of 94,000 people, while the entire region has over 850,000 residents. Current plans on launching high-speed services include the introduction of 26 to 32 trains between the city and New York per day. In the final phase, the number of trains will increase to 44 per day. According to the scenario, 2.3 million passengers will be carried every day at speeds of 220 km/h.
According to the US High-Speed Railway Transport Association, the authorities plan to build a railway network of 17 thousand miles by 2030 (around 27.5 thousand km) whose construction will be divided in 4 phases. The most crowded corridors are known as “megaregions” and have been studied by the Association for Regional Planning, according to which 10 mega-regions which form the backbone of the development of the high-speed transport strategy are being considered.
“Our plans call for a national system of HSR Express lines connecting cities and states into an integrated system. The stra-tegy sets high standards for interoperable state-of-the-art dedicated track, advanced control systems, elegant multi-modal train stations, and top-of-the-line 220 km/h trains connecting major cities together. Our plans call for a support network of 110 km/h trains connecting smaller cities and towns together with the high speed system.
The new system will provide regional and local railway transport connection within a single network and will include regional and commuters services, as well as the metro, tram and light metro systems”, says the association for HS transport.
In 2009, American President Barack Obama launched the new vision on the development of high-speed transport, according to which 85% of the Americans will have access to these transport services. The “Recovery Act” stipulated the allocation of USD 8 Billion and an annual allocation of USD 1 Billion for the development of infrastructure projects.
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