The Future Of American High Speed Rail

The following is a breakdown of three major U.S regions which will have HSR lines within the next 30 years.

Florida
High Speed Service is projected to begin between Miami and West Palm Beach by around 2018, followed by service to Orlando in 2020. On November 10, 2015, All Aboard Florida announced that the service will operate under the name Brightline. To cover the distance between Orlando and Miami in the desired time of about three hours, Brightline trains will have to operate with an overall average speed of 80 mph (129 km/h), which is similar to the overall average speed of the Acela Express operating on the Northeast Corridor between New York City and Washington, DC. By comparison, the approximate driving time for this distance is about four hours. Trains will top out at 125-130 mph (201-209 kph) while en route to Orlando.

The Northeast Corridor (NEC)
By 2040, work will be nearing completion on a major upgrade of the Northeast Corridor (NEC). America's busiest rail line, the NEC runs from Boston in the north to Washington in the south, via New York. Like many rail services in the US, it had seen decades of underinvestment. Much of the infrastructure was poorly managed and in need of renovation. Tunnels, for example, had speed restrictions due to their obsolete designs, while electrical components dating from the 1930s would routinely fail. There were engine breakdowns, conflicts among trains and frequent delays costing tens of millions of dollars in lost productivity. Between 2000 and 2010, intercity ridership on the NEC jumped from 8.2 to 13 million passengers a year. In an effort to address future capacity needs, improve service reliability and reduce travel times, Amtrak formulated plans for a $150 billion, 30-year investment program. This would see construction of a dedicated high-speed route with upgraded tracks and signals, including trains running up to 220 mph (354 kph).

California
Construction began in early 2015. Completion of the first leg from Merced to Bakersfield was expected in 2019, but a federal report estimates completion of this leg in 2024. Completion of Phase 1, San Francisco to Los Angeles is expected in 2029. Phase 2 extensions to Sacramento and San Diego are expected after that. These will connect the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center in Anaheim and Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles with the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco via the Central Valley with speeds up to 220 miles per hour (354 km/h), providing a "one-seat ride" for the trip in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Early Tests
Test runs for Florida's system started in 2016.