RESEARCH BRIEF - Toward clean, efficient passenger rail: A comparison of key

system operated by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, known as Amtrak.2 PASSENGER RAIL IN CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES This section briefly introduces the passenger railway systems in China and the United States and compares ridership, infrastructure, energy consumption and emissions, and costs. [...] The Qinhuangdao–Shenyang HSR started construction in 1999 and went into full operation in 2003.23 In the late 1990s, the former Ministry of Railways enacted the Railway Speed Improvement Plan during the Tenth Five-Year Plan.24 The Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001–2005) proposed a national HSR network connecting major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, by the end of the plan term. [...] In 2004, the first Medium- and Long-Term Railway Network Plan announced the planning and construction of dedicated high-speed passenger railways with more than 12,000 km of track and a maximum speed of more than 200 km/h.25 In 2008, the government released a revised plan that called for the planning and construction of “Four Vertical and Four Horizontal” corridors with more than 16,000 km of dedic. [...] POLICY AND PLANNING IN THE UNITED STATES The United States has explored the potential of introducing HSR since 1964, with several federal plans and fiscal investments, but progress has been limited.30 In 1970, Congress passed the Rail Passenger Service Act with the aim of preserving intercity passenger train service. [...] The Medium- and Long-Term Railway Network Plan in 2004 contributed to innovation in wheel-rail technology on the Beijing–Shanghai HSR and three other north-south HSR routes, which paved the way for the rapid construction of HSR in China.