High Speed Rail Alliance

On Thursday, Nov. 19, the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois Chicago will host two leaders from the Maryland Department of Transportation for an in-depth look at the Baltimore Red Line and its role in bridging the past, present, and future of transportation in the city.

Amtrak and NJ Transit began transferring the second track from the old Portal Bridge to a new, fixed span over the Hackensack River on October 9. A companion bridge, Portal South, has not yet been funded and is not under construction. The new surface transportation bill can change that.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is working to update the 2023 State Rail Plan, with a final draft expected July 2027. Send a message to IDOT to advocate for service-led, integrated network planning in the 2027 Illinois State Rail Plan. Where do YOU want the train to take you?

👀 Registration is open for our 2026 annual conference "Building the Passenger Rail Coalition" on Friday, Nov. 13 in Chicago! 🚍 Learn from the NITA story 🌳 Discover paths to sustainability 👥 Strengthen your train advocacy 🎟️ Tickets on sale now! Did we mention lunch is included?

🚍 Not-hot take: Intercity buses are underrated. They connect cities and towns with affordable public transit where gaps in train service exist, and when they're planned to work together, buses and trains are a powerful duo. 📋 If you live in Illinois, take this quick survey from IDOT:

The Washington State Department of Transportation is taking public comment through Nov. 13 on its study for a high-speed line between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. The study will be released in 2028. The momentum for high-speed rail is driven primarily by rising congestion on Interstate 5.

Illinois: The Department of Transportation wants to hear from you to help shape the 2027 Illinois State Rail Plan. Tell IDOT to: 🛤️ Develop an ambitious integrated network vision 🚄 Begin planning for hourly intercity passenger service ⚡️ Identify routes and segments for electrification by catenary

Congress has not yet passed a surface transportation package to replace the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Midterms are fast approaching. Both will shape the next five years of federal funding for passenger rail—and so can you. Take a moment to send an easy message in support of American trains:

The S-Line, a higher-speed passenger rail project to connect Raleigh, NC and Richmond, VA, has been obligated $550 million from the Federal Railroad Administration. The money will go toward upgrading roughly 75 miles of abandoned, formerly CSX-owned right of way to run passenger trains at 110 mph.

Shout-out to all the Wisconsin rail advocates who have been badgering the feds to fund an @amtrak.com route to Madison. www.tmj4.com/news/local-n... @hsrail.bsky.social

NITA riders: Today (Oct. 16) is the last day to take the "What Moves You?" survey and influence the 2027 budget priorities for your new transit agency. It takes just ~10 minutes!

Don't miss our virtual event with Coloradans for CoCo Director of Outreach James Flattum tomorrow (Oct. 16) at 11 a.m. MDT/noon CDT to learn more about the Colorado Connector campaign and its practical phased-development strategy. #YesOn7A

Our partners at UIC are hosting a webinar tomorrow, Oct. 15 at noon CDT: "Construction and Testing of the West Lake Corridor Project/Monon Corridor" with NICTD Chief Mechanical Officer Gary Babcoke. All about the South Shore Line's latest extension. Check it out! utc.uic.edu/events/const...

🎉 Registration is now OPEN for our 2026 annual conference, BUILDING THE PASSENGER RAIL COALITION on November 13 in Chicago! Join us to learn from Midwest advocates, sustainability experts, and HSRA leaders about how you can help advance world-class passenger rail no matter where you are in the U.S.

Last month, our outreach manager Jordan Pokorney got a chance to visit InnoTrans, the world's largest railway trade show, in Berlin. Check out our latest blog post to read more about what the U.S. can learn from this international gathering and its host country.

🚨 Illinois: The Department of Transportation wants your feedback for the 2027 State Rail Plan. Follow the link to: ✅️ Complete the survey ✅️ Add comments to the interactive map ✅️ Email DOT.IllinoisStateRailPlan@Illinois.gov for other suggestions Help shape the future of train travel.

Maryland has quietly become one of the key sites of railway upgrades in the Northeast Corridor. Three consecutive water crossings on a 35-mile stretch between Baltimore and the Susquehanna River will soon be rebuilt or replaced. Read more:

Join us tomorrow (Friday, Oct. 9) at noon EDT/11 a.m. CDT to learn more about how expanded commuter rail through-running at New York Penn Station could unlock greater regional connectivity.

A second daily Amtrak Pennsylvanian train between NYC and Pittsburgh will begin service on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026. This is good news, and PennDOT should keep this momentum going to add even more frequencies to and from the City of Bridges.

Increased transportation options for central and southern Lake County, IN residents traveling to downtown Chicago and surrounding areas will be the focus of “Construction and Testing of the West Lake Corridor Project/Monon Corridor,” a UTC online Seminar Series presentation on Thursday, Oct. 15.

The Buffalo – New York Empire Corridor is a great case for network planning. Without a federal rail plan, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) considers only the traffic potential within the state, instead of the total market-shed for the route.

Catch our webinar with James Flattum from Coloradans for CoCo on Friday, Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. MDT to learn more about the Colorado Connector's strategic phased development plan—and why the Front Range should vote "yes" on 7A this November!

Tell NITA we need more reliable, more accessible transit service that moves more people without cars 🫡

Super important!

It is heartening to see @nitachicago.bsky.social ask for public input when NITA staff is preparing the 2027 Budget rather than waiting for public comment after staff has finalized a proposed budget. (@illinoisdot.bsky.social, CMAP, and CDOT should do the same on DNLSD/Lincoln Park project planning.)

Tomorrow, Sept. 30, marks the first revenue service of the new Amtrak Airo trainsets on the Cascades route. We look forward to the capacity these trains will offer as they are rolled out on other routes throughout the network. More states should make Airo procurement a top priority.

Success! 🎉 On Sunday, Sept. 27, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 1425 into law, establishing a permitting program for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. This is a critical step toward accelerating construction and eliminating costs.

Early work is underway on the two-mile Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Baltimore. It’s the largest Amtrak-led infrastructure investment in the railroad’s history, and it’s the most consequential piece of the Northeast Corridor’s future outside of New York. www.hsrail.org/blog/the-fre...

Want to learn more about the hard facts behind the benefits of high-speed rail? Join our webinar with Dr. Francesca Pagliara from the University of Naples Federico II, who has spent her career studying the impact of these amazing machines. 🗓️ Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 9 a.m. CDT via Zoom

California High-Speed Rail is making a featured appearance at InnoTrans in Berlin this year, the Authority's first time at the world's largest railway trade show. CHSRA CEO Ian Choudri spoke on a panel during the opening ceremony alongside executives from Alstom, Siemens Mobility, and Škoda Group.

"WSDOT has completed the second of four phases of its high-speed rail planning process and received federal approval to begin Phase 3, which will identify potential route options." myedmondsnews.com/2026/09/casc...

Some of the latest trains to hit Korean, Norwegian, Italian, and German rails at #InnoTrans2026. So cool to see how versatile the Stadler FLIRTs can be. Can't wait to see them in Chicago.

[Jeremy Clarkson voice] "Tonight ... "HSRA Board Treasurer Matthew Roling shares five trains that would smoke your uncle's Porsche 911 in the quarter mile. "Presenting the fastest trains ... in the world."

Amtrak has been working for several years to purchase Union Pacific’s Canal Street Yard in Chicago, which stretches from Archer to Pershing Road along Canal Street. We need to stay active to ensure it has enough capacity for future, electrified trains.

Renovating Buffalo Central Terminal isn’t just about saving a beautiful building. It’s about elevating Buffalo to its rightful place—at the center of a region, at the crossroads of a nation, alive with the buzz and energy of great trains.

The Intercity 125 HST was the fastest passenger rail service in Britain when it launched 50 years ago. A preservation group will celebrate this milestone with a run on the original line on Oct. 4, using the original rolling stock.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has announced that the new Amtrak Airo trains will begin service on the Cascades route Sept. 30. WSDOT also announced that a development plan for the Cascadia High-Speed Rail project will be released in 2028.