Looking back on the harsh conditions around July 4th in Washington D.C. this year, it all seems a bit ironic.

The Fourth of July, a day that is meant to represent the continual preservation of our freedom, was met with bad thunderstorms, bad traffic and  a widespread blackout, leaving millions sweltering in overwhelming heat.  At least 26 people died in the storm or the aftermath that caused the blackout.

These conditions dampened the spirits of potential revelers, causing them to give up their plans to celebrate, thus, indirectly restraining their independence. Even Fast Trains author Emy, canceled her plans to celebrate in D.C. because she wanted to avoid the 90-100 degree weather.

There are current conditions in our nation that are prohibiting our freedom to travel with ease whenever we desire.  Temperatures are ever increasing and causing us to evaluate how we use energy and how we can combat climate change.  It is a vicious cycle in transportation, and it needs to stop.

I think it is interesting to contrast these conditions to the possibilities of high-speed rail.  A fully functioning HSR system would take a considerable number of cars traveling from city to city off the roads, decreasing gas emissions and traffic congestion.

The irony of the Fourth of July in Washington D.C. this year serves as a strange foreboding omen to me of what is to come if we do not stop the cycle of harmful transportation practices and push towards sustainability.  How are we to celebrate independence in blacked-out neighborhoods, 100+ degree heat and congested high-ways?  

High-speed rail in this case wouldn’t just make travel more convenient.  On a deep level, it exists to preserve our freedom and foster the great innovation in America to keep moving forward and moving faster. In order to celebrate and continue our independence, we have to depend on accessible and renewable energy sources that are reliable forever.  Only then can we truly celebrate Independence Day.

Overcrowded highways and post-9/11 air travel woes have become an expected norm in transportation.

We often spend more time in the security and check-in lines at the airport than we do on the actual plane.  What American stuck in a five-lane traffic jam on the I-5 with the kids shouting, “Are we there yet?!” has not thought to herself: “There must be a better way.”

As part of an hour-long interview on Marilyn Shannon’s “Breaking Free” show, Nancy and Emy discuss high-speed rail’s potential to change the traveler’s experience to a pleasant and enjoyable one 

“We have come to accept really being uncomfortable and stressed by our travel,” said Nancy, “[High-speed rail] is such a humane, civilized way of traveling, and it comes out in the book.”

Emy and Nancy’s book, Fast Trains: America’s High-Speed Future, focuses on the importance of the traveler’s experience. “[The book] helps you understand how it is to experience all these different types of high-speed rail across the world,” Emy remarked.  Through compelling testimonies of families traveling on HSR in countries like Japan, the lifestyle benefits come alive for the readers.

“We did it in such a way that we didn’t want to be negative about our current conditions, but they can be so much better,” said Nancy on comparing high-speed rail to other forms of travel.

It’s something to get excited about, not just because of the environmental or economic benefits, but because of the potential to improve the overall experience of travel.  High-speed rail can bear our travel burdens and change the way Americans think of transportation.

Nancy described it best in a few sentences: “The good things about the train are not going to change.  There will be the ability to get up and walk to a place and have something to eat.  Your kids can run to the bathroom when they need to.  There are really wonderful things about trains now.  It’s just the addition of this incredible speed and the convenience of it.”

-Rachel Lewis, guest blogger