Amtrak’s 50 m.p.h. service may be outmoded, but 185 m.p.h. French bullet trains have proved so popular that they’ve added double-decker cars. Germany is now testing a 300 m.p.h. Magnetic Levitation train to complement its existing fleet of 165 m.p.h. trains. Japan is testing a 275 m.p.h. model to replace its aging 130 m.p.h. Skinkansen train. Britain, China, Italy, Russia, Taiwan and other nations are building new high-speed rail lines.
Bullet trains could relieve Chicago of gridlock and travel stress. Even slower (120 m.p.h.) service could move commuters between distant suburbs, downtown and O’Hare Airport in 10 to 15 minutes. Locating stations at O’Hare and next to highway exits would let drivers “park and ride.” Overpasses and viaducts would skirt the need for railroad crossings. Air traffic at O’Hare would be reduced as passengers opted for 185 m.p.h. train service to Milwaukee (30 minutes), Detroit and St. Louis (under two hours each).
The age of the high-speed train is here. It’s time for Chapman and transportation planners to drop their fascination with gridlocked highways and come aboard.
