THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTHEAST MEGAREGION OF THE UNITED STATES: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS

This paper examines the high-speed rail (HSR) development issues in the Northeast Megaregion of the United States (U.S.). Due to chronic underinvestment and a myriad of other factors, the only operational HSR in the U.S., i.e., Amtrak’s Acela Express, is lagging behind the Japanese Shinkansen and other advanced HSR systems in the world in its operating performance and relative modal importance. This study adopts both regional and international perspectives to address this issue. The regional perspective conducts the passenger rail transportation deficiency analysis on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The international perspective introduces the Japanese railway privatization process and its consequences. Based on empirical research, this paper proposes a set of improvement strategies and draws conclusions.