Should the U.S. government lift the 79 MPH passenger train speed limit?
by 
jacyschroeder
ANSWERS: 4
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yeah that seems a bit slow.
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Japan and Europe have 200mph, trains, why shouldn't we?
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I find it incredible that you have a speed limit of 79 mph. Trains in UK travel at 100 - 125 mph - even the small commuter services. On London Underground we do 40 - 65 mph.
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Short answer: yes. Long answer: That's only a limit depending on the track and how many grade crossings there are. It's not that trains can't legally go faster, but that they have to make really expensive modifications to do so. Outside of the northeast corridor and some big city commuter operations, not many systems exceed that 79mph limit. A lot of the FRA's policies for passenger service are antiquated. Trains could weigh a lot less, accelerate faster, and use less fuel if those limits were removed. Safety could be made up for with better signaling and more grade separation, which would probably be cheaper in the long run anyway. California is realizing that its high-speed train schemes probably won't go anywhere without FRA limits being scaled back or ignored.
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