Newsletter 6/21/24: New High-Speed Night Train Launched in Hong Kong

Imagine Going to Sleep In New York and Waking Up In Miami

China launched overnight high-speed train service from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai this week.

The new trains show the adaptability of high speed rail and how it can be expanded to offer travelers ever-better experiences and options.

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Passengers ride the high-speed sleeper train D910 bound for Beijing West Railway Station at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station on June 15, 2024 in Hong Kong, China.
Maps showing how a North-South link would connect Boston area commuter lines.

A Boston North-South Rail Link Would Be Transformative

Earlier this week Congressman Seth Moulton released a study that makes the case for a North-South rail link in Boston:

“For over a century, New Englanders have talked about completing the missing rail link in Massachusetts so that trains coming into Boston flow right through the city and out the other side. It would mean traveling around the state faster than driving, doubling or tripling access to housing and jobs, and connecting people from Maine to Miami.”

The Missing Link (Study Overview) 

Mass. Rep Moulton’s Mission: One (North-South) Rail to Rule Them All

Regional Rail In Boston With TransitMatters (Video)

Lakeshore Rail Summit: Creating Transportation Oases

Last week the Lakeshore Rail Alliance hosted a summit in Erie, Pennsylvania. Leaders and advocates joined together to discuss how improving the Lakeshore Corridor could transform cities like Erie, from a transportation desert into a transportation oasis.

Video of the Summit

At the High Speed Rail Alliance we’ve advocated for at least four daily roundtrips linking Chicago and New York as an interim step, while working on a high-speed line. More frequent trips throughout the day would make a train trip between Erie and Cleveland a lot more attractive. And it would create stronger economic ties throughout the region.

HSRA’s Vision for the Lakeshore Corridor

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When you join the High Speed Rail Alliance, you support elected officials and other local leaders working for fast, frequent, and affordable trains connecting communities all over North America. Every donation gives advocates for better train service a stronger voice. And, you can get some cool merch to help share the news with your friends.

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High-Speed Rail and the Construction of Space in 1960s Japan

When: Friday, June 28 at 12pm CT on Zoom

This talk will consider the bullet train in terms of the social construction of space—the ways in which people think about and use physical spaces—comparing government plans with public reactions to highlight the interaction between ideas and the built environment.

City Limits: A Conversation with Megan Kimble

When: Friday, August 16 at 12pm CT on Zoom

Join us for a discussion with Megan Kimble, author of the recently published “City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways.” Kimble explains how ever-expanding urban highways accelerate inequality and fracture communities; describes the growing movements in opposition to highway expansion in three Texas cities; and calls for a more sustainable path forward.

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