Although I work in Chicago, I have spent the last few months laser-focused on California, communicating with dozens of assemblymembers and senators from all over the state. Why is a national nonprofit in Chicago so focused on your state? Because what happens in California is a precursor for what changes our nation. And right now, the future of high-speed rail in the United States will be determined by what California does in the next couple of weeks. I helped found the national nonprofit High Speed Rail Alliance because of my belief in high-speed rail for all of America. California is home to the closest thing the country has to a finished segment of high-speed line. The Merced to Bakersfield segment â as bumpy and lumpy a road as it has been to build â is well underway. This 171-mile segment will be the backbone of the statewide rail network. It will support trains going 220 mph â the first true high-speed line in the United States.