Amtrak trains in Pennsylvania will begin traveling at up to 110 miles an hour next month, the fastest American run outside the Washington, D.C.-Boston corridor.
The new service cuts travel times between Philadelphia and Harrisburg to 90 minutes from about two hours -- considerably faster than driving. The $145 million project includes new rails, which allow a smoother ride, and cleaner electric trains. Amtrak plans to add trains to meet the bump in ridership that's likely with the improved service.
In Cascadia, the governments of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia need to move faster to meet growing demand for an efficient way to move around the region. Train ridership between Vancouver, Seattle and Portland has soared along with improved service in recent years. But going by train is still slower and less convenient than driving.
Plans call for gradually improving infrastructure along the route in order to add frequency and speed the trips. By about 2013, eight trains a day would run between Seattle and Portland in three hours, and three trains would run between Seattle and Vancouver in 3:30. Currently there are no plans to add trains or cut travel-times between Seattle and Vancouver before the 2010 Olympics.