Title:
High-Speed Trains May Be Coming to California,
Florida
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
People in Europe and Asia have enjoyed high-speed
trains for years. This Japanese train set a speed
record of 581 kilometers an hour. Yet the fastest
American train reaches less than half that speed. It
operates only between Washington and Boston.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says changes are
coming to American trains.
RAY LAHOOD: The day will come when you can see
travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in under
three hours going 220 miles per hour.
Work on a high-speed train could start in California
in two years. Conditions might be right for such a
train. President Obama has announced plans to spend
eight billion dollars to develop high-speed
railroads. John Risch is with the countrys largest
labor union for railroad workers.
JOHN RISCH: In California alone, it is estimated
that 160,000 construction jobs would be created just
to build those two high-speed rail corridors.
The federal project will develop 13 high-speed rail
links. Steve Kulm works for Amtrak, the passenger
railroad company. He says only the links in
California and Florida will truly be high-speed.
STEVE KULM: There is a difference between, you know,
high-speed in Europe and Asia and high-speed in
America. In Europe and Asia, they are dedicated
tracks where only high-speed trains operate on. Here
in America, our passenger trains share tracks with
slower freight trains.
Most of the money will go to improve service on
slower trains and existing transportation. Kulm says
Amtraks fastest train is already competing with
airline companies.
STEVE KULM: Before, between Washington and New York,
the passenger train only had about 37 percent of the
market. Today, Amtrak has 61 percent of the market
compared to air flights. Same thing that happened on
the north end of the corridor, between New York and
Boston.
Environmental groups have praised the project.
Howard Lerner is head of the Environmental Law and
Policy Center.
HOWARD LERNER: On a per passenger-mile basis, rail
is about three times as efficient as travel by car,
in terms of fuel efficiency, and six times as
efficient as travel by air. So there are pretty
substantial pollution reduction benefits, both in
terms of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.
John Risch of the United Transportation Union has
other reasons.
JOHN RISCH: Passenger trains are the safest form of
transportation available with the exception of the
elevator. Trains are fuel efficient, they relieve
highway and airport congestion, and they also reduce
our dependence on foreign oil, making trains --
passenger trains -- the safer, cleaner, greener
transportation option.
Critics say the federal money will start many small
projects, but not finish them. Supporters of the
plan say it will lead to a new form of public
transportation in the United States. Im Doug
Johnson.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
