Overseas, the Trains and the Market for Them Accelerate.

The article reports on the intersection of two new developments in high-speed passenger train travel in Europe: break-throughs in the way the bullet-shaped trains run and the opening of large markets in Eastern Europe and Asia. The United States, affected by the problems with the Acela service on Amtrak, remains on the sidelines of high-speed railway development and is vulnerable to losing out on new technologies for propulsion and vehicle control. With new technology trains are lighter and can go faster and accelerate more easily. Other break-through features include eddy current brakes. Top speeds can reach 210 miles per hour.