The Alternate Times

By Rhonda Robinson Taylor

September 14, 2029

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — Construction work has begun on the first phase of the United States’ first national high-speed rail project, following a $148 billion investment from the U.S. Congress this spring.

“The railroads first connected this nation over 100 years ago. While we will never abandon the car and the airplane, I’m proud to say that trains will power this country for the next 100 years,” said U.S. Secretary of Rail Gina Raimondo.

Virginia Beach will be the southeastern terminus of the network, which will also stretch to Seattle, San Diego, and Boston. No single operator will run over the entirety of the network. Instead, Congress has authorized four government-controlled corporations to operate each quadrant.

The construction is estimated to take three years, with the first segment from Virginia Beach to Washington, D.C. set to open in mid-2030 with a maximum speed of 150 mph. The project relies on a series of right-of-way acquisitions and conversions of existing freight rights-of-way to accommodate high-speed trains exclusively.

Former U.S. First Lady Jill Biden, who is the chair of the High-Speed Rail Planning Commission, said her late husband would have fully supported the project as a lifelong passenger train rider.

“The commission has spent several months in Europe, surveying state-of-the-art equipment and observing some of the finest rail operations in the world,” she said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Now, within my lifetime, I’m confident that our rail network will resemble some of the finest high-speed operations in existence.”

Next month, said Biden, the planning commission will meet with almost a dozen internationally renowned architects to review renderings for 18 major stations, 31 mid-size stations, and 82 small stations.