House subcommittee hosts hearing on high-speed rail, emerging tech

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials held a hearing yesterday on the benefits and challenges of high-speed rail (HSR) and emerging technologies.

Witnesses testifying before the panel included Bill Flynn, chief executive officer of Amtrak; Carlos Aguilar, president and CEO of Texas Central, which is developing a Dallas-to-Houston HSR system; and Michael Reininger, CEO of Brightline Trains, which operates and is expanding a HSR system in Florida and between Las Vegas and Southern California.

Also giving testimony were Phillip Washington, CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Andy Kunz, president and CEO of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association; Andres de Leon, CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies; Josh Giegel, CEO of  Virgin Hyperloop; and Wayne Rogers, chairman and CEO of Northeast Maglev.

The speakers provided a range of perspectives on the opportunities and limitations associated with HSR and emerging technologies, including regulatory oversight, technology readiness, project costs and available federal resources.

“Given President Biden’s call for even more rail funding, I am proposing to robustly fund high-speed rail planning and development in our surface transportation reauthorization package. It is time the United States makes a long-term bold effort to bring greater mobility to the nation,” said Subcommittee Chairman Donald Payne Jr., in a prepared statement.

For links to the witnesses' testimony, click here.