On April 22, the largest single investment in high-speed rail in U.S. history, the $12 billion high-speed rail project connecting Los Angeles and Las Vegas began.
For Americans who aspire to have their own high-speed rail system, this is undoubtedly a day to remember. American netizens admitted that for decades, building a real high-speed rail has been an unattainable dream of the United States. And today, that dream has finally come true.
As a "latecomer" in the development of global high-speed rail, the United States is quickly making up for its past regrets. According to the plan, the Los Angeles-Las Vegas high-speed railway, with a total length of 351 kilometers and a design speed of up to 320 kilometers per hour, is expected to be operational by 2028 in preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics.
This is an important step for the United States to embark on the "high-speed rail era". However, compared with other countries that already have mature high-speed rail networks, the United States has a long way to go to develop high-speed rail.
The last-mover first-come" challenge
When it comes to high-speed rail, China, Japan and some European countries often come to mind, and they are the frontrunners in this field. For example, China's high-speed rail has grown from scratch and has now exceeded 40,000 kilometers of operating mileage, making it the most developed country in the world.
In contrast, the development of high-speed rail in the United States has been difficult. Lack of funds, various obstacles, and poor infrastructure are the main obstacles that have long plagued the construction of high-speed rail in the United States.
Earlier this year, Biden unveiled a package of more than $600 billion, including $66 billion to develop rail infrastructure. This also injects new impetus into the future of high-speed rail in the United States.
However, some analysts believe that even if the time and place are right, it will still be difficult for the United States to catch up with other developed countries in the field of high-speed rail, especially China.
First, there is a huge demand for land for high-speed rail. Compared with countries with narrow terrain such as Europe and Japan, the United States has a vast territory, and the construction of high-speed rail requires a large amount of land to be expropriated, which brings a lot of resistance to many landowners.
Second, the construction of high-speed rail in the United States is constrained by cost. According to the World Economic Forum, the average cost of building a high-speed rail line in the United States is $98 million per kilometer, more than six times the European level.
Third, the geographical environment of the United States itself has also brought certain obstacles to high-speed rail. The vast territory of the United States and the wide variety of terrain have brought many difficulties to the construction of high-speed rail lines.
So now although the construction has begun, the result is unknown.
China-US high-speed rail "different boom"
From scratch, with each passing day, China's high-speed rail is developing rapidly in China with high-speed rail, and the United States will also enter the era of high-speed rail, and the two countries will set off a "steel hurricane" in this field.
As early as the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China's first high-speed railway, the Shanghai-Ningbo high-speed railway, kicked off the prelude to the development of high-speed rail in China. In the past ten years, China's high-speed rail has developed by leaps and bounds, and the operating mileage has soared from 12,000 kilometers to nearly 40,000 kilometers today, continuing to hold the position of the world's largest high-speed rail country.
While achieving remarkable results, China's high-speed rail has also encountered some thorny problems. For example, the early planning of some high-speed rail lines is not good, and the location and layout of high-speed rail stations are not reasonable enough. However, in general, China's high-speed rail has gradually entered a benign development track through continuous innovation and optimization.
Now, the major high-speed rail project promoted by Biden has finally kicked off.
In the end, what kind of "different prosperity" the high-speed rail development model between China and the United States will present is destined to become a unique scene.
As more and more countries join the ranks of high-speed rail development, in the era of globalization, the high-speed rail systems of different countries will be better connected, bringing great convenience to people's travel. And China and the United States will undoubtedly play a key role as the "locomotive".
However, the United States has just taken the first step in laying high-speed rail lines, and China is far ahead.