The report argues that the United States should not spend trillions of dollars on high-speed rail, as it is likely to carry less than 2% of the nation's passenger travel and no freight. The report also points out that high-speed trains were rendered obsolete in 1958 when Boeing's 707 entered commercial service, and that air travel is now cheaper than rail travel. The main disadvantage of high-speed trains is their high infrastructure costs, which must be built and maintained to extremely precise standards. The report suggests that the United States should focus on maintaining and improving its existing infrastructure, rather than building new infrastructure that would not be cost-effective.
