Summary: The goal, as outlined this year by President Obama, is reinvigoration of former manufacturing centers—and, by extension, the economy—through fuel-efficient and timely inter-regional rapid rail. The means to that goal is to connect 17,000 miles of track for trains that travel up to 220 miles per hour and to have it in place by 2030. The newly formed group charged with making this happen is the U.S. High Speed Rail Association. Join them October 22–23 in Washington, D.C., along with partners and sponsors, including the AIA, to hear how lessons learned from Europe and Japan can be applied here in the U.S.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater are among the luminaries scheduled to speak at the High Speed Rail 2009 conference in October.

Additional conference speakers include Andy Kunz, president of US HSR; Huw Thomas, Foster + Partners Architects, London; and JF Finn, AIA, LEED-AP, principal and managing director of Gensler Las Vegas. Go to the conference Web site for a full list of speakers and updated conference program.

AIA members will receive 15 percent off the registration fee (enter discount code NH4NXJWB3M when registering online).