Policy Committees
USHSR's policy committees are designing America's next transportation system. From standards development to permitting reform, USHSR members are leading the charge.
The cutting edge of high-speed policy development
The USHSR Standards committee, launched in early 2026, represents the first effort to develop comprehensive American standards for high-speed rail. It includes over 60 experts representing over 20 USHSR member organizations on eight separate committees:
- Track & Infrastructure
- Rolling Stock
- Maintenance
- Traction Power
- Train Control
- Communications
- Operations & Traffic Management
- Oversight
Representatives of the Standards committee will present the proposed standards at USHSR's annual conference on May 18-19 in Washington, D.C.
The Permitting Reform committee recently developed and drafted The America on Track Act, a bill focused on reducing environmental review timelines that will be introduced into Congress on a bipartisan basis. Please see the Policy Priorities page for more detail on our permitting reform proposal.
The Funding & Finance committee analyzes and develops high-speed rail funding and financing proposals, including the recommendations that USHSR submitted to the House Transportation & Infrastructure and Senate Commerce committees at the start of the 119th Congress.
The Governance committee is focused on developing recommendations to support stronger federal governance of high-speed rail. The committee is currently focused on analyzing proposed changes to the Corridor ID program coming out of Congress and developing a comprehensive USHSR proposal to expedite Corridor ID.
As Brightline West and California High-Speed Rail move toward track and systems construction, a full-scale high-speed rail supply chain is growing across America. The Supply Chain committee, which includes key contractors and suppliers building these two projects, is comprehensively mapping out the emergy American high-speed rail supply chain in order to better understand where high-speed rail is creating jobs across America. This information will inform our legislative strategies and broader advocacy program.
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