With a perfect safety record, projected job creation of 1,750 jobs per year over 25 years, and estimated emissions savings of over 2,700 tonnes of CO2 per year in the U.S., it’s hard to see why a country as vast as Canada hasn’t started building high-speed rail. High-speed rail (HSR) reaches speeds of over 200 kilometres per hour and has been operating in France for almost 30 years and in Japan for 46. Our two prime corridors for true HSR are Calgary-Edmonton and Windsor-Quebec City, where travel times would be cut in half. Countries around the world are embracing HSR. HSBC forecasts that the biggest beneficiary of stimulus money in 2010 will be the rail sector, which should receive $64 billion USD. China is also getting on board by building 7,000 kilometres of dedicated HSR routes. Even our neighbours to the south realize its importance. In January, U.S. President Barack Obama announced $8 billion in grants for the country’s first national, high-speed intercity rail service—which is p