Rerouting the US: Reimagining a country for high-speed trains

Air travel for Americans is often fraught with problems. Rarely a week passes without significant delays or cancellations, as weather, technical failures, and major logistical disruptions — such as last year’s government shutdown — conspire to keep passengers from reaching their destinations.

High-speed trains would offer Americans an attractive alternative — if they existed.

Nearly 200 years ago, the United States opened its first modern railway and by 1850, it was home to more than 9,000 miles of railroad — as much as the rest of the world combined.

Today, US train travel is unrecognizable from its heyday, yet there’s a proven alternative to gridlocked highways and overcrowded airports: high-speed trains. CNN has reimagined three of the busiest flight and road trip routes across the US mainland as high-speed rail lines – offering a glimpse into a faster, more connected future.