ABSTRACT
This chapter explains Charles Schumer's theme by covering the planning and politics of adding significant new transportation capacity to megapolitan areas. Megapolitan areas link the nation to the global economy. Perhaps the most important connections are the megapolitans' international hub airports. Links between megapolitans form a dense web of connections that carries the bulk of business travel in the nation. Analysis of the intensity of air travel in just high-speed rail (HSR) corridors suggests there would be a high market demand for express HSR in California, Texas, and the Northeast. A comprehensive plan for building a national network of HSR lines was proposed by Regional Plan Association of New York in 2009 and updated in 2011. The Federal Railroad Administration sees both regional HSR and express HSR as possible in the United States. Megapolitan areas are mostly continuous urban corridors and are best served by regional HSR.
