{mosads}Amtrak’s current high-speed service, the Acela trains in the Northeast U.S., have a top speed of 150 miles per hour. However, trains on the railway currently run as slowly as 80 miles per hour in some places because the trains share tracks with Amtrak’s regular service, as the Chicago-to-St. Louis trains would.
Amtrak has told lawmakers it has a plan to increase the speed of its trains to 220 miles per hour by 2040, but Republicans in the House have derided the plan as unrealistic.
They have suggested that Amtrak turn its rail service in the Northeast, which is its most profitable area, over to private companies because they could develop high-speed rail more quickly.
Amtrak has tested higher-speed trains in other areas, most recently running 165 mile per hour trains in Maryland and Delaware.