On the Side Track?: High Speed Rail in North America North
America (U.S., Canada and Mexico) is at a crossroad of economic
development. The U.S. and Canada are transitioning from the
Post-Industrial to the Information Age. Mexico, an upper-middle
–economy, is on the verge of becoming a developed country,
despite its present difficulties. All three countries are linked
geographically, economically, politically and culturally.
Although N.A.F.T.A has not received much attention lately, this
does not obviate joint development opportunities. Infrastructure
coordination, such as high-speed rail (HSR), can strengthen all
three countries and create additional opportunities. It could be
the impetus for a new era of sustainable prosperity for all
three countries. In Europe, Japan and China there are well-
developed systems of HSR, but North America seems to lagging in
its development. Turkey, a candidate for the European Union
(E.U), will, have a HSR line between Istanbul and Ankara by 2014
and actively planning a compl