A recent development that went under the radar a bit is the rule change to allow for light weight train cars on the tracks in the USA. The Acela line in the Nor

A recent development that went under the radar a bit is the rule change to allow for light weight train cars on the tracks in the USA. The Acela line in the Northeast has been plagued with problems even going 125 MPH due to the large increase in weight needed for US crash standards that dictate they basically need to come out pretty intact colliding with a freight train. This made for very expensive, and heavy cars. And it also meant that using other high speed rail stock in the world could not be done without significant modification. The Acela train had problems with the brakes cracking from the weight. With increasing urbanization, some areas with close cities could very well be served by high speed rail. Even in Europe, larger distances are covered by low cost airlines now. But with increasing airport crowding and the fact that most train station are in city centers vs the fringes like most airports it could be very useful. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/11/23/u-s-finally-legalizes-modern-european-style-train-cars/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/11/23/u-s-finally-legalizes...