This report addresses the public benefits and investment needs of intercity passenger rail transportation. AASHTO has published an investment needs report for highways and transit, and intends to publish a report on freight rail investment needs. Cost estimates for intercity passenger rail investment presented in this report were developed independently from those contained in the freight rail report. In combination, these reports provide a complete picture of the benefits of the various surface transportation modes to the U.S. and the value to be realized by both the traveling public and shippers through strategic investments.

In the past few decades, the field of transportation has changed dramatically. Deregulation and greater reliance on markets and the private sector has helped to reconfigure the transport industries, while the rise of intermodal goods and global commerce has produced efficiencies of operation and a greater interdependence among transport modes. In a