High-Speed Rail Takes Center Stage at Conference in Washington, DC

Washington, D.C. — This week, transportation experts, policymakers, and advocates from across the country gathered in the nation’s capital for HSR 2025, a three-day conference focused on accelerating the future of high-speed rail in the United States. Event attendees explored strategies for planning, designing, and delivering high-speed rail projects on a national scale.

Central to the conference was a renewed sense of urgency and optimism about the role high-speed rail might play in reshaping American infrastructure. Discussions have centered around streamlining project delivery, scaling successful models, and overcoming political and financial obstacles that have long delayed the nation’s progress on this front.

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood delivered the opening address, reflecting on the federal government’s initial investment in high-speed rail during the Obama administration. 

“Back in 2009, when I came to work for President Obama’s administration, it was clear he had a vision for rail,” LaHood said. “We had an abundance of riches right from the beginning. Eight billion dollars was set aside for high-speed rail. It was clear he wanted to jumpstart the opportunity.”

LaHood traced Obama’s early interest in rail to his time as a state senator in Illinois.

“He would ride Amtrak from Chicago to Springfield rather than driving. I think that shaped his enthusiasm,” he said, adding that international travel later broadened Obama’s understanding of what was possible.

Much of the initial funding was invested in California’s high-speed rail project, but LaHood also highlighted potential in other corridors, particularly Las Vegas to Los Angeles, as key opportunities for growth.

As of 2025, several high-speed rail projects are underway or in advanced planning stages across the United States, including the California High-Speed Rail project, which aims to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, though it has experienced cost overruns and delays, and the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, a collaborative effort between North Carolina and Virginia to develop a high-speed rail line connecting Raleigh and Richmond.

These projects reflect a growing commitment to expanding high-speed rail infrastructure in the U.S., with the potential to transform regional connectivity and promote sustainable transportation.

“If Dwight Eisenhower had signed the high-speed rail bill instead of the Interstate Highway Act, America would be connected by trains today,” LaHood said, lamenting that “our national government never made the investment.”

Despite changes in political leadership, LaHood remains hopeful: “Are we in as good a place as we were under a different administration? Of course not. But over 300 people signed up for this conference, and that wasn’t the case a year ago.”

As the conference continues, attendees are focused on translating vision into momentum – discussing manufacturing, procurement, and streamlining projects as well as hearing from international voices to learn lessons from nations that have built new systems quickly.

“The American people know that High Speed Rail creates jobs, creates economic development, and creates the next generation of transportation for the next generation,” LaHood said.

And echoing a sense of generational responsibility, he added, “You are the dreamers, and when your grandchildren ride on that high-speed rail, they will have you to thank for it.”

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