# The Real Reason US High-Speed Rail Failed ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed.webp]] **Creator:** The B1M · **Published:** 2026-04-01 · **Length:** 19:14 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6hX-wPRjY) > Caption source: YouTube English (United Kingdom) **manual** captions downloaded with **yt-dlp** (`en-GB`, the video's only manual track; 214 timed cues). The first yt-dlp subtitle request hit YouTube's "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot" check; a spaced retry ~20 s later succeeded, so TubeAlfred was not needed. Figures and spellings (Shinkansen opened for the **1964** Tokyo Olympics at ~**130 mph**; LBJ took office **1963**, **Great Society**; **High Speed Ground Transportation Act** signed **1965**; New York Central jet-engined RDC ran **170-something mph** in Ohio in the late **1950s**; **Pell Plan 1962**; Northeast Corridor electrified since the **1930s**; **Turbotrain** New York–Boston; **21-mile** New Jersey test stretch begun **1966**; PRR wanted **120 mph**, government demanded **150 mph**; testing from early **1967**; Japan **six years** vs US **25 months**; **50** cars ordered from the **Budd Company** with **17 months** to build; service delayed to **1969**; ~half the fleet out of service **1969–70**; average **110 mph**; Amtrak from **1971**; originals phased out from **1976**, ended **1981**, brand kept to **2006**; Turbotrain ended **1976**; **1973** oil shock; NEC **800,000** riders/day on **2,000** trains, **20%** of US GDP, **30%** of jobs) cross-checked with The B1M's companion article, [The Time America Tried to Beat the Shinkansen](https://www.theb1m.com/video/the-time-america-tried-to-beat-the-shinkansen) (byline **Ian Parkin**, 1 April 2026; note the article keeps the video's original title), which follows the narration closely but paraphrases some figures (e.g. "just over a year" for the car build, "hundreds of thousands" of daily NEC riders). On-screen caption: **Robert Holzweiss** — President, **Railway and Locomotive Historical Society**. YouTube chapters used for section headings; they line up with the captions. Screenshots from the 720p stream (format 136). Host **Fred Mills**. Contains paid promotion for **Odoo** (~5:20–6:50; all-in-one business management platform, 45 apps, first app free for life); description also promotes Fred's book ***Mega Builds*** (pre-order) and The B1M's **Get Construction Talking** mental-health initiative. Additional images and footage: **CNR**, **MCA/Universal Pictures**, **C-Span**, **NASA**, **Emery Gulash**, **Bell Laboratories**. ## Outline ### 0:00 The Starter Pistol - **0:01** In **1964** the world's eyes were on Tokyo for the Olympic Games — but what captured attention wasn't the medals or parades, it was the **Shinkansen**, a revolutionary high-speed train shooting passengers across Japan at record speed. - **0:22** The bullet train became the envy of the world, "firing the starter pistol" on a global race to join the high-speed club. - **0:34** In pole position: the **United States**, with its technical prowess and superpower resources. Work began on an all-American train that would "leave the Shinkansen in the dust." - **0:51** Sixty years on, the bullet train is a national icon in Japan — and the US is still struggling to build its first high-speed line. A story of failed ambition, but with a legacy that still matters to American rail: what happened when America tried to build a bullet train. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0003.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0015.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0035.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0072.webp]] ### 1:24 The Big Society - **1:25** President **Lyndon B. Johnson**, "a man with a vision," took office in **1963** and set out to transform America into **"The Great Society"** — policies meant to right wrongs across American life, including transport. - **1:51** The US had the most technologically advanced vehicles in (and out of) the world, with one glaring exception. Archive LBJ: "We have airplanes which fly three times faster than sound. We have television cameras that are orbiting Mars. But we have the same tired and inadequate mass transportation between our towns and cities that we had 30 years ago." - **2:16** Without a car, getting around the country was a slog — and worse, **Japan**, a wartime enemy just 20 years earlier, now led the world in rail. "A bullet might be fast, but an eagle is faster." - **2:39** In **1965** LBJ signed the **High Speed Ground Transportation Act**, backing research and development of a US high-speed train network. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0090.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0115.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0160.webp]] ### 2:52 Early Ideas - **2:52** Not America's first foray into high speed. **Robert Holzweiss** (President, Railway and Locomotive Historical Society): in the late **1950s** the **New York Central Railroad** mounted two airline **jet engines** on top of a **Rail Diesel Car (RDC)** in **Ohio** and hit "170-something miles an hour" on deliberately flat, straight, well-kept track — a demonstration, never a serious transport proposal. - **3:37** "Less insane" attempts followed. Senator **Claiborne Pell**'s **1962 Pell Plan** called for a revitalised rail network serving the dense cluster of north-eastern cities — what we now call the **Northeast Corridor (NEC)**. - **4:02** Suburbanisation put millions of commuters on roads that quickly clogged. Holzweiss: interstates made the US a car culture, but there was a push toward mass transit; the NEC, then owned by the **Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)**, was a prime target — already electrified since the **1930s** and linking the economic capital (**New York**) with the political capital (**Washington, D.C.**). - **4:46** Johnson's dream took shape through Pell's corridor plan. The bill sponsored two test projects: the **Turbotrain** (electric engine plus diesel-powered turbine, **New York–Boston**) and a second scheme on the crucial **New York–Washington** route — the one with the most lasting impact on US rail. - **5:20** (Bridge into sponsor.) Fred jokes about the "very primitive technology" of the era — pen and paper borrowed from a local museum. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0185.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0215.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0240.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0295.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0312.webp]] ### ~5:20 Sponsor — Odoo - **~5:36–6:50** Paid promotion: **Odoo**, an all-in-one business management platform — invoices, contracts, resource scheduling, HR — with **45 apps** in one ecosystem, automation of manual tasks, scalable as a business grows; first app free for life including unlimited support and hosting (link in description). ### 6:54 How to High Speed - **6:54** What a high-speed line needs. First, smooth track: at speed every bump is amplified, so rails are **welded** — the familiar "click clack" disappears. - **7:17** Second, as few things to slow you as possible — above all **corners**. Curves must be shallow and gentle; centrifugal force throws the train outward, so the track's **cant** (angle) is raised to balance the load on the rails. - **7:42** Third, reliable power. Electric trains draw from overhead **catenary**; Holzweiss: at high speed the **pantograph** bounced and lost contact, so engineers changed how the wire was strung and reshaped the pantograph from triangular to a **V-shape** to keep tension and contact. - **8:15** In **1966** work began upgrading a **21-mile** stretch in **New Jersey** to test the first cars before the full line was finished — flat, straight track, like the Ohio experiment a decade earlier. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0425.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0480.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0505.webp]] ### 8:45 Coming Off the Rails - **8:46** "That was the easy bit." The line was privately owned by the **PRR**: the federal government would pay for track upgrades, the PRR for the trains — which didn't give Washington a free hand. - **9:05** Facing short timeframes, the PRR wanted straightforward **120 mph** trains that wouldn't need expensive track work. For the government that missed the point: this was America's "ticket into the first class lounge" of high-speed rail, meant to make the bullet train's **130 mph** "look half cocked." The red line: **150 mph**. - **9:42** The result: the **Metroliner**. It didn't look very high-speed — the Turbotrain resembled a jet, the bullet train looked and sounded cool — because it was essentially a normal train. With no time for a prototype, the PRR bought existing cars and began extensive upgrades to turn them into high-speed units. - **10:19** Electrics stripped out and replaced with new high-speed gearing; each car got a new pantograph for a more reliable connection to the wires. - **10:30** Two suspension types: **coil springs** for the train's weight and **air springs** compensating for passenger load. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0540.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0585.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0620.webp]] ### 10:40 Metroliner Innovations - **10:41** A new **computerised speed control**: the driver set speed on a dial and the onboard computer handled braking and acceleration. - **10:54** A partnership with **Bell Laboratories** fitted a radical invention — onboard phones that could call anywhere in the US, an early **cellular** system: trackside coils switched the signal to the local frequency, or "cell," as the train passed. - **11:19** Holzweiss: aimed at **businessmen** and people working on the move — comfortable, quiet, air-conditioned, well-appointed interiors with **club cars**. - **11:41** Only a new front panel for streamlining — more was deemed unnecessary and would clash with operations. Japan's **0 Series** ran in standardised **12-car sets**; each Metroliner car was **self-powered** with a cab at one end, grouped in **pairs** so trains could lengthen or shorten to match demand rather than run half-empty. - **12:29** Testing of the new trains began in early **1967**. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0655.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0690.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0725.webp]] ### 12:34 The Dawn of a New Era - **12:35** "The dawn of a new era in rail transportation!" In tests the Metroliner smashed the **150 mph** target set by the **Department of Transportation** — but there was trouble ahead. - **12:49** The whole programme was pushed to breakneck speed: the act signed **1965**, PRR negotiations ran into **1966**, service due **October 1967**. Japan took **six years** to plan and build the Shinkansen; the US hoped to do it in **25 months**. - **13:25** Technical issues piled up. **50** carriages were ordered — the biggest new-car order in over a decade — and the **Budd Company** had just **17 months** to build them. Deliveries were riddled with bugs: broken traction systems, engine fires and doors that flew off at speed. - **13:52** Opening slipped to **1969** with most issues unresolved; between **1969 and 1970** nearly **half** of the cars were out of service with faults. - **14:09** But surely, as long as trains were hitting 150 mph, it was mission accomplished? ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0760.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0800.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0840.webp]] ### 14:24 Track Trouble - **14:17** No — for most of its service the Metroliner averaged just **110 mph**. The New Jersey test track was exceptionally favourable: straight, flat, with a slight downward slope. - **14:34** The rest of the Washington–New York track was upgraded as planned, but there was only so much that could be done: trains still ran on the same route as **100 years** earlier. - **14:48** Holzweiss: not purpose-built for high-speed rail — "an Achilles heel." If starting elsewhere: "I would build it straight. I would build it flat," with the most modern equipment and infrastructure. - **15:10** Japan never had that problem: its narrow-gauge network twisted through mountains and was never suitable, so it built an entirely new, purpose-built route — a "new mainline," or *shinkansen* in Japanese. - **15:45** The space race context: US high-speed rail was conceived as another **moonshot**, a technical problem for the best and brightest. But it was really about the long, hard yards of meticulous planning — as Japan learned, high-speed rail "wasn't a technical revolution, it was a triumph of bureaucracy." ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0880.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0915.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0950.webp]] ### 16:18 Metroliner Epilogue - **16:18** The Metroliner was short-lived. After **1969** issues were slowly fixed at huge cost; in **1971** **Amtrak** took over and began looking for a replacement. Overhauled and repurposed cars kept the **Metroliner brand** alive until **2006**, but the original service was phased out from **1976** and ended in **1981**. - **16:52** The Turbotrain fared no better: heavily reliant on diesel, it was hit by the **1970s energy crisis** and ended in **1976**. - **17:07** The US still struggles today. **California High-Speed Rail** learned from the Metroliner by carving its own route along the west coast — and got tangled in **land acquisition**. - **17:24** But the act left a legacy Senator Pell foresaw: people **loved** the Metroliner. Holzweiss: it attracted strong early ridership; the **1973 oil shock** made people rethink owning two cars or driving long distances, and Amtrak scrambled to find equipment. - **18:09** Across most of the US rail isn't a viable mass-transport option, but the **Northeast Corridor** is critical national infrastructure: **800,000** riders a day on **2,000** trains, serving a region that generates **20%** of US GDP and **30%** of its jobs. Creaking and in need of repair "in spite of its ridership, not because of it." Pell was right — "and for that we have the humble Metroliner to thank." - **18:53** Sponsor thanks (Odoo) and subscribe outro. ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t0990.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t1040.webp]] ![[images/The-Real-Reason-US-High-Speed-Rail-Failed-t1130.webp]] ## Things mentioned ### Trains and rail projects - **Shinkansen / 0 Series** (Japan) — opened **1964** for the Tokyo Olympics; ~130 mph; standardised 12-car sets; dedicated new alignment built over six years - **Metroliner** — PRR / federal New York–Washington high-speed programme; 150 mph target beaten in 1967 tests; service 1969; ~110 mph average; Bell Labs onboard phones; self-powered paired cars; phased out 1976–1981, brand to 2006 - **Turbotrain** — electric + diesel-turbine train, New York–Boston; ended 1976 amid the energy crisis - **New York Central jet-powered RDC** — late-1950s Ohio demonstration, two jet engines on a Rail Diesel Car, 170-something mph - **Northeast Corridor (NEC)** — Washington–New York–Boston; electrified since the 1930s; 800,000 riders/day, 2,000 trains; region = 20% of US GDP, 30% of jobs - **Acela** (pictured in companion article as today's NEC train) - **California High-Speed Rail** — new west-coast alignment; land-acquisition troubles ### Policies, plans and events - **Great Society** (LBJ) - **High Speed Ground Transportation Act** (1965) - **Pell Plan** (1962) — Senator Claiborne Pell - **1964 Tokyo Olympics**; the **space race** / Moon programme; **1973 oil shock** / 1970s energy crisis ### Engineering concepts - Continuous **welded rail** (no "click clack") - Shallow curves and raised **cant** - **Catenary** restringing and **V-shaped pantographs** - Coil + air **suspension**; computerised dial-set **speed control** - Trackside coils for **cellular** call hand-off ### Organisations and companies - The B1M / **Fred Mills** (host); **Ian Parkin** (companion byline) - **Railway and Locomotive Historical Society** — Robert Holzweiss - **Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)**; **New York Central Railroad**; **Penn Central** (livery in companion); **Amtrak** (from 1971) - **Budd Company** (50 Metroliner cars in 17 months) - **Bell Laboratories** - US **Department of Transportation** - **Odoo** (paid promotion) - Footage credits: **CNR**, **MCA/Universal Pictures**, **C-Span**, **NASA**, **Emery Gulash**, **Bell Laboratories** - ***Mega Builds*** — Fred Mills (pre-order, in description); **Get Construction Talking** (B1M mental-health initiative) ### Places - **Tokyo**, **Osaka** (Japan) - **Ohio** (jet-RDC run); **New Jersey** (21-mile test stretch) - **New York**, **Washington, D.C.**, **Boston**; **California** ### Figures and facts - 1964 Shinkansen ~130 mph; US target 150 mph vs PRR's 120 mph - Act 1965 → negotiations 1966 → planned service October 1967 → actual 1969 - Japan six years vs US 25 months; 50 cars, 17 months, Budd Company - ~Half the fleet out of service 1969–70; average ~110 mph - Amtrak 1971; originals phased out 1976, ended 1981; brand to 2006; Turbotrain ended 1976 - NEC: 800,000/day, 2,000 trains, 20% GDP, 30% jobs - Odoo: 45 apps; first app free for life ## Biographies ### Fred Mills Co-founder and on-camera host of **The B1M**. He narrates America's 1960s bid to out-do the Shinkansen — from LBJ's Great Society to the Metroliner's rushed build and lasting Northeast Corridor legacy — and delivers the mid-video **Odoo** sponsor segment with a pen-and-paper gag. The description also promotes his book ***Mega Builds***. ### Robert Holzweiss **President of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society** (captioned on screen) and rail historian. He recounts the New York Central's 1950s jet-engine RDC stunt in Ohio, the post-interstate push for mass transit on the electrified Northeast Corridor, the catenary and pantograph redesign, the 21-mile New Jersey test track, the Metroliner's business-traveller interiors and flexible consist philosophy, the "Achilles heel" of running on century-old alignment ("I would build it straight. I would build it flat."), and its strong ridership after the 1973 oil shock. ### Lyndon B. Johnson 36th President of the United States (1963–1969). His **Great Society** agenda extended to transport; he signed the **High Speed Ground Transportation Act** in **1965**, launching the Turbotrain and Metroliner programmes. Archive audio of his "airplanes which fly three times faster than sound… television cameras that are orbiting Mars" remark frames the problem. ### Claiborne Pell US Senator from **Rhode Island** (1961–1997). His **1962 Pell Plan** proposed a revitalised rail network for the dense north-eastern city cluster — the Northeast Corridor — and shaped the federal programme; the video credits him with correctly foreseeing rail as the mainstay of the region's transport. ### Ian Parkin (The B1M) Byline on The B1M companion article *[The Time America Tried to Beat the Shinkansen](https://www.theb1m.com/video/the-time-america-tried-to-beat-the-shinkansen)* (1 April 2026), which follows the narration, corroborates the 1965 act, Pell's role, the Turbotrain/Metroliner split, the 21-mile New Jersey test stretch, 150 mph test speeds, the 1969 launch and ~110 mph average, Amtrak's 1971 takeover, and California HSR's land challenges. ### Odoo Paid video sponsor — Belgian-founded all-in-one business management software (invoicing, contracts, scheduling, HR and more across ~45 integrated apps), promoted ~5:36–6:50 with "first app free for life" including unlimited support and hosting.