The HSIPR Program was created to help address the nation’s transportation challenges by making strategic investments in an efficient network of passenger rail corridors that connect communities across the country.

Objectives:

1. Build new high-speed rail corridors that expand and fundamentally improve passenger transportation in the geographic regions they serve;
    
2. Upgrade existing intercity passenger rail corridors to improve reliability, speed, and frequency of existing services; and
    

3. Lay the groundwork for future high-speed rail services through corridor and state planning efforts

To date, the HSIPR Program has supported nearly 150 projects in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

Corridor Investment Strategy

Most rail investments to-date are invested in key corridors with a focus on projects offering the greatest public benefits, as well as those projects ready for implementation.

FRA has strategically invested in 5 mega-regions (Seattle-Portland, San Francisco-Los Angeles, Charlotte-Raleigh-DC, Midwest hub, and Northeast Corridor) that hold some 65 percent of our population and that stand to absorb the bulk of future population growth. FRA, in partnership with states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, is currently laying the foundation for high-speed rail corridors to link Americans with faster and more energy-efficient travel options. The Department of Transportation is working with states to plan and develop high-speed and intercity passenger rail corridors that range from upgrades to existing services to entirely new rail lines exclusively devoted to 150 to 220 mph trains.

FRA has taken a market-based approach that reflects the differing needs and characteristics of corridors throughout the nation. This is being done through a three-tiered passenger rail strategy:

• Core Express services frequent trains at 125-250+ mph in the nation’s densest and most populous regions;
• Regional services service (90-125mph) between mid-sized and large cities; and
• Feeder services (up to 90mph) connecting communities to the passenger rail network and providing a foundation for future corridor development.