A new study from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)—using lessons learned from other countries—found that high-speed rail can boost a nation’s economy, curb pollution, provide an appealing alternative to congested roads and airports, and conserve energy.

“A Track Record of Success: High-Speed Rail Around the World and its Promise for America” provides details of several well-established high-speed rail systems in other countries whose results support the case for establishing these systems in the United States. Some of the benefits include:

* Job creation (approximately 8,000 people were involved in the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to London).

* Development opportunities near stations (in Lyon, France, in areas near the city’s rail station, office space increased 43 percent).

* Economic growth(the counties surrounding the German towns of Limburg and Montabaur reported a 2.7 percent increase in their Gross Domestic Product—a result of the Frankfurt-Cologne high-speed rail line providing increased access to markets).

* Reduced oil dependence (a typical Monday morning business commute between London and Paris on high-speed rail uses approximately one-third less energy than does a car or a plane).

* Reduced road congestion (Spain’s high-speed rail service between Madrid and Seville dramatically reduced the share of car travel on highways between the two cities—from 60 to 34 percent).

In a prepared statement, U.S. PIRG Transportation Associate Dan Smith said: “Now that the elections are behind us, it’s time to get serious about high-speed rail. Leaders from both parties should support long-term investment in high-speed rail for the economic, environmental, and quality-of-life benefits.”

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