new HIGH SPEED RAIL poll
Majority Want Nationwide High Speed Rail Network
New poll finds clear majority of voters want nationwide high speed rail
More than 30 U.S. House members have introduced legislation that would invest $205 billion into a nationwide high-speed rail network. The action comes as a survey finds that high-speed rail is very popular, with 60% of U.S. registered voters holding a favorable opinion of it. Only 16% of voters view it unfavorably, the survey found.
High-speed rail is especially popular in the West where the nation’s first high-speed rail projects — Brightline West and California High Speed Rail — are under construction. There, high-speed rail transportation has a 71% favorability rating, according to the survey conducted by Public Policy Polling for the U.S. High-Speed Rail Coalition.
In a sign of even stronger support, 72% of American voters also support creating a nationwide high-speed rail network, including 46% who strongly support the idea. Again, support is strongest in the West (85%), but a majority of voters in the Northeast (77%), the Midwest (66%), and the South (61%) also support building the network.
A majority (57%) of poll respondents think their Senators and Representative in Congress should support funding to create such a network in the United States. “A clear majority of voters want a nationwide high-speed rail network,” said Andy Kunz, CEO of U.S. High Speed Rail. “Americans are ready for the high-speed rail revolution.”
Lead bill sponsors Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) were joined by representatives from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, Oregon, and Virginia to back the five-year investment plan, the American High-Speed Rail Act. The more information voters receive about high-speed trains, the more likely they say they are to support funding a U.S. high-speed rail network. Here are some examples from the survey:
• “High-speed bullet train systems reduce traffic jams and flight delays and cancellations.” Fifty-eight percent of voters say this makes them more likely to support funding a high-speed rail network in the U.S., while only 11% say it makes them less likely to support it.
• “Over 40,000 Americans die in car accidents every year and millions more are injured. In France and Japan, millions of passengers have traveled on nation-wide high-speed bullet train networks for decades without a single death.” Fifty-seven percent of voters say this makes them more likely to support funding a high-speed rail network in the U.S., while only 11% say it makes them less likely to support it.
• “High-speed rail systems in other countries allow passengers to take trains to cities hundreds of miles away as often as every few minutes –without the hassle of going to, from and through the airport.” Sixty percent of voters say this makes them more likely to support funding a high-speed rail network in the U.S., while only 11% say it makes them less likely to support it.
• “High-speed bullet projects are some of the largest infrastructure projects in the world. Building, maintaining and operating high-speed rail systems creates tens of thousands of good-paying jobs. These systems also create thousands more indirect jobs around the new high-speed train stations.” Fifty-six percent of voters say this makes them more likely to support funding a high-speed rail network in the U.S., while only 12% say it makes them less likely to support it.
• “Europe has eliminated short flights on several corridors between 200 - 400 miles long because electric high-speed bullet trains take travelers on those same routes with far less hassle, at lower cost, and with less pollution.” Fifty-seven percent of voters say this makes them more likely to support funding a high-speed rail network in the U.S., while only 12% say it makes them less likely to support it.
Other key findings from the survey:
• Thirty-seven percent of voters overall said they’d be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported high speed rail, with 31% saying it wouldn’t make a difference and just 22% saying they’d be less likely to vote for such a candidate.
• The biggest potential benefit of implementing a high-speed rail network in the eyes of voters is “providing convenient and fast transportation” (35%).
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