The High Speed Rail Learning System (HSRLS) is a learning platform for High Speed Rail (HSR) education, training and collaboration created by Michigan Technological University, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and their partners. Since 2009, FRA has invested nearly $12 billion in more than 150 high-speed and higher-performing intercity passenger rail projects. In California, a 220 MPH passenger rail system connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles will break ground in the summer of 2013, and an FRA-led planning effort called NEC FUTURE is laying a foundation to bring world-class service to the Northeast Corridor.
There is already a critical need for workers qualified to operate and maintain high-performance rail systems, but demand will increase as more projects come online. As of May 2013, 44 FRA-funded projects are currently under construction or will be soon, while 27 projects of all types are complete.
Meanwhile, there remains a huge pent-up demand for high-speed and higher-performing intercity passenger rail projects. Since 2009, FRA has received funding requests for projects totaling seven times more than available funding, and planning efforts since then have built an even stronger project pipeline. The HSRLS is an important step forward in addressing these critical workforce development needs.
The HSRLS is an open learning platform that initially provides basic education on high speed rail topics. The long term objective is to allow for both learning and sharing of educational materials among current and other interested stakeholders. The project team encourages everyone interested in the topic to explore the site and the educational modules currently offered. Even though the site is open for public, we’re continuing to revise and develop both content and features. The team is looking for feedback on the system, content, and how it could most efficiently be used in the future to accelerate high speed rail education and development in the U.S., so we truly appreciate any user feedback and comments provided in the discussion forums or via email. We hope you all find something beneficial from the system. Enjoy the ride!!!