This very narrow infrastructure carries more than a 10-lane freeway - without congestion or delays!
High speed rail has a tiny footprint compared to other modes of transport in a number of different ways. Physically, a high speed rail line is the width of 3 lanes of pavement, but carries far more passengers than a 10-lane freeway. The train stations are a fraction of the size of an airport, and are usually embedded within the city where people can walk to the train.
High speed rail has a far lower energy and carbon footprint, using a fraction of the energy that aviation and autos use, while being capable of operating on 100% renewable energy as it comes on line.
"High speed rail carries 20 times the capacity of highways!"
Huge difference in transportation footprints, costs, mobility, and impacts
"High speed rail carries 10 times the capacity of aviation!"
Comparison of vehicles used in standard, domestic commercial service
Huge difference in physical footprint between an airport and a train station. Train station carries 5 times more passengers.
SMALL ENERGY FOOTPRINT
Incredible energy efficiency of high speed trains. (Chart source: www.uic.org)
Renewable Energy
Green, Electric Transportation
Walkable Urbanism
"American transportation is a mess because we've left out the most important piece - High Speed Rail!"
As the nation contemplates a major infrastructure investment, its important to look at the complete transportation system of America at all scales, and trip distances. Our new chart showcases this new thinking for national transportation planning!
An integral part of a complete system, high speed rail can carry enormous capacity! A single HSR line transports up to 20,000 people per hour (more than a 10-lane freeway + 2 airports), without delays or congestion. The addition of HSR to America's transportation mix would remake it into a complete system. HSR fills the middle range of passenger trips in the 100-1,500 mile range, while shifting aviation to its most efficient range of passenger trips of 1,000 miles or longer, and cars covering their most efficient range under 100 miles.
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