While USA sleeps, China transforms
In just 22 years, China built a high speed rail infrastructure long enough to criss-cross the United States about 10 times, and in 12 years it will double that coverage. USA should be talking about this.
A Boeing 757 aircraft has a cabin capacity of 239 passengers, and cruising speed of 500 mph.
By contrast, high speed rail (HSR) trains in China travel at 217 mph, and have a capacity of 1,634 passengers — and that doesn't even count their enormous cargo capacity!
And HSR trains are more dependable than domestic flights, with less delays and cancellations. (I don't know if you've noticed, but in America, air travel has become considerably more expensive and less fun.)
Imagine the the economic advantage any country would have if it had a high speed rail infrastructure connecting every major (and mid-major) city.
Now ponder this.
In 2000, China had exactly ZERO miles of high speed rail infrastructure.
But as of February 2022, China has 23,500 miles of HSR infrastructure, and plans to double that by 2035.
To put that into perspective, in just 22 years, China built a high speed rail network long enough to criss-cross the United States about 10 times, and in 12 years it will double that coverage.
Right now 75% of Chinese cities with a population of 500,000 or more are linked to China's high speed rail network. I'm guessing every city of significance will be connected before they are done.
China's economic advantage over USA isn't just cheap labor. China transports people and goods all around their country better and cheaper with its high speed rail system than America can with our network of airports and semi-trucks on highways.
To be clear: I'm not saying USA should make the same investment in high speed rail.
I am saying USA is oblivious, distracted, and falling behind.
When I visit with Americans about building high speed rail infrastructure in the USA, their responses basically fall into one of two categories.
(1) The unaware. Some people are just not aware of how China, Germany, Japan, Spain, and France use high speed rail to their economic advantage.
(2) The politicized. Some people feel obligated to hate the idea of high speed rail infrastructure because California is building HSR infrastructure. (By the way, Texas is trying to build HSR between Dallas and Houston. If it can get the project out of the permitting process and under construction, hopefully HSR will be less politicized.)
The rail network being built in California will transport 1,300 passengers at 200 mph. The high speed rail network in Texas will travel at speeds between 186 mph and 205 mph and have a similar capacity if needed.
To be clear: I'm not saying high speed rail should replace USA's current infrastructure. I'm only saying that the country could probably take great advantage of its addition to the transportation infrastructure we already have.
When compared to our current infrastructure of automobiles, semi-trucks, and airports, high speed rail has already proven in other countries that it is a less expensive way to transport people and goods, it is far better for the environment, it is more dependable, and it will help our economy.
Congress obsesses about replacing gas- and diesel-powered vehicles on America's roadways with electric vehicles, but it might be a good idea to encourage long range passenger and freight travel over to high speed rail.
And high speed rail is so much more fuel efficient than freeway and air travel, that it makes a country less vulnerable to inflation and hardships when the global fuel supply is disrupted, in short supply, and is expensive.
Again, I'm not saying that the USA should match China's high speed rail infrastructure, I'm saying we should be discussing it — without partisan impairment, if possible. 😉
Thanks for listening.
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Ben Jones, CNN
