Moving Forward with America's High-Speed Rail Projects

A nationwide roll-out of high-speed rail may never materialize in the United States, but that hasn't stopped local plans from moving forward at their own pace. The past few weeks have brought intriguing—and in some cases, very encouraging—updates on bullet train projects in California, Texas, and the Northeast. Let's check in on the latest.

When we last left California's proposed high-speed rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the project had identified a much-needed long-term funding mechanism in the form of state cap-and-trade revenue. Earlier this month, project supporters got a legal boost to accompany that financial one. The state Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal from project opponents, which means that a previous ruling, allowing construction to proceed despite claims that the project had changed too much from original voter intentions, will stand.