Last week, the Alliance took part in the US High Speed Rail Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Attendance at the event has grown steadily in recent years, and the momentum continued this year. There were about two dozen sponsors, 50 speakers, 18 panel...
Newsletter 4/25/25: Amtrak ‘Mardi Gras’ Service and the Sunshine Corridor
Amtrak ‘Mardi Gras’ Service Launching This Summer
Amtrak has reached agreements for the new ‘Mardi Gras’ service to launch this summer. The twice-daily intercity train will connect New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. There will be morning and evening departures from both cities.
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Study Approved for Sunshine Corridor
The governing board for SunRail has approved a Project Development and Environment study of the Sunshine Corridor. The Sunshine Corridor creates various highly-desired connections to major employment and tourist centers in Orlando. Local regional rail SunRail and private intercity rail Brightline will share the corridor to cater to commuters and tourists alike. A finalized route has not yet been decided on.
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Florida’s Sunshine Corridor Builds Upon State’s High-Speed Rail Plan
SunRail Board Approves $6 Million Study for Brightline-Linked Sunshine Corridor
Momentum for Better Trains
When: Friday, May 9 at 12pm CT
Speaker: Nolan Hicks, NYU – Marron Institute for Urban Management
The new “Momentum” report from NYU’s Marron Institute and the Transit Costs Project looks at options for quicker trips and making passenger rail service competitive with driving and flying, by using existing rail lines. “Momentum” seeks to speed service not by focusing on top speeds, but by focusing on increasing average speeds across a route. It does this by introducing a high-throughput infrastructure framework, to reduce delays and dead time.
AI-led Risk Forecasting and Risk Management Within the Rail and Transit Industry
When: Tuesday, May 13 at 11am CT
Speakers: Richard Bendall-Jones & Alexi Kostopoulos, nPlan
nPlan has worked on major rail projects across the world, including with Network Rail, HS2, City of Ottawa Stage 2, Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), MTR in Hong Kong, and more. Join us for an overview and discussion of how AI can revolutionize the way teams reduce risk during the delivery of major capital projects. We’ll also present real-world examples of how AI has been implemented on major rail projects.
What's the Latest on Federal Funding?
When: Friday, May 16 at 11am CT / 12pm ET on Zoom
Speaker: Beth Osborne, Director of Transportation for America and Rick Harnish, High Speed Rail Alliance Executive Director
The first months of Donald Trump’s return to the White House have brought sweeping changes to federal transportation priorities and funding, plus ongoing questions and concerns. A power struggle over federal funding has put investment in limbo for new and improved trains and transit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other measures.
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Chicago High-Speed Rail to Madison, 2 Hours or Bust – The Cheesehead Flyer
Meet the New Owner of the Texas High-Speed Rail Project
California High-Speed Rail Construction Hits New Milestone
Morocco Launches New High-Speed Rail Project
Alto High-Speed Rail Project is a Gain for Canadian Infrastructure
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