The purpose of this report is to make concrete recommendations at the federal, local, and project-sponsor level to speed up the delivery of true high-speed rail in the United States. This report is based on an extensive review of existing and planned high-speed rail projects, original data collection on costs and project timelines, and in-depth interviews with 66 experts across the international high-speed rail industry, including project sponsors, suppliers, agency officials, consultants, contractors, lawyers, advocates, scholars, and others. Below, we outline five core recommendations, and the intended audience beneath each recommendation.

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