Trains, planes, & pains: what's the best way to get from point A to point B? Amtrak's high-speed rail takes on the airlines

Sierra, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Blair Tindall

These aren't cheap thrills. It took $3.8 billion to electrify and modernize much of the Northeast corridor's infrastructure. In addition, an $850 million loan for Acela trains contributes mightily to Amtrak's $3.9 billion debt. Lacking the billions needed to make .systems truly efficient, most American high-speed rail projects idle in the study stage. Amtrak is passing on 200-mph bullet trains for now; instead, it's aiming for "higher-speed" rail, increasing some existing service to 110 to 125 mph.

In Europe and Japan, commuters zoom between city centers on efficient high-speed trains. While on board, passengers work uninterrupted, or they walk around, enjoy meals, relax, snooze, or watch the scenery from spacious seats. In these countries, where governments provide substantial financial support, superfast rail has evolved into real competition for air travel.

In the American West, Amtrak's Cascades is combining state, federal, and private funding while gradually approaching high-speed rail. It snakes from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon, along the way serving Seattle-Portland commuters. Instead of spending billions on a new 200-mph rail line, the Cascades uses existing freight tracks at 79 mph--the maximum allowed on routes without an automatic train-stop system. As grade crossings and track are improved, the Cascades will gain on its 110-mph target. But environmental gains may be immediate: Talgo, the Cascades' Spanish manufacturer, says a 500 percent ridership increase over eight years has eliminated 1,340 tons of emissions annually.

Overall, trains produce a fraction of the carbon dioxide per passenger-mile of cars or planes. Humming by marshes and the New England coastline, I see egrets, boats, and trees--but no exhaust. The energy for Amtrak's electric trains is generated by hydroelectric, coal, nuclear, and other means. While rail power isn't pollution-free, its emissions can be controlled at the source more efficiently than the emissions of, say, millions of individual vehicles.

The Acela slides quickly into Boston's renovated South Station on time at 12:33. I step onto the platform with two Brits who rode the fastest segment, from Providence to Boston. "It's a smart train," exclaims the husband. "Like the Eurostar from London to Brussels." But there's room for improvement. In the same 3.5 hours I was onboard, I could've gone nearly three times farther on France's TGV. Its 621-mile North Sea-Mediterranean route operates at a consistent 186 mph.

Levitating trains are the next big thing, with Japanese prototypes setting a record 343 mph in 1999. Like a couple of extremely expensive refrigerator magnets, tim magnetic levitation ("maglev") train and guideway repel each other without touching, propelling the vehicle to an average speed of 240 mph. A Baltimore-Washington maglev is being studied; if extended to New York, the commute to Washington could take just 90 minutes.

The final segment of my rail trip involves hopping on Boston's Red Line train right from South Station. I make my Back Bay lunch date at 12:47, 4 hours and 17 minutes after leaving Times Square, with plenty of time to enjoy a grilled-salmon salad.