NE Corridor Needs High-Speed Rail
By Jack Kinstlinger
Chairman Emeritus, KCI Technologies,Inc.
The Northeast Corridor is the seond most dense in terms of population in the world, second only to the Tokyo-Osaka corridor that has been blessed with superior fatality free Tokaido-Shinkansen high speed rail service operated profitably for over 40 years by the for profit Central Japan Rail Corporation.It is the only corridor in the US that resembles much of Western Europe with a major downtown every 50 mile or so.Clearly, frequent, reliable high speed rail service-over 200 MPH - in the Northeast over dedicated right of way separate from the current Amtrak operation will be profitable and decongest highways and importantly, decongest critically congested East Coast airports by diverting short haul air passengers to rail.The prospects are so attractive that significant private capital will be attracted , a public private partnersghip should lead the effort which may or may not involve Amtrak.