Steam–powered locomotives helped bring people across the West but they also brought their share of problems. Traveling through enclosed tunnels or past the tall buildings of cities, the smoke from steam engines could be dangerous, even deadly. The story of electric trains is the story of the search for a better way. Electrically powered trains and trolleys helped build cities like Los Angeles. They let people live in new places, even far from where they worked. They were fast and efficient and led to some of the most modern trains on earth.

In Japan, the high-speed train may not be faster than a speeding bullet, but it's close. Traveling at almost 200 mph, the bullet train speeds across the country. It has helped cities grow and made it easier to live far from them. Although it looks like science fiction it is more than fifty years old.