High-speed rail

High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions include 200 km/h (125 mph) and faster — depending on whether the track is upgraded or new — by the European Union, and above 90 mph (145 km/h) by the United States Federal Railroad Administration, but there is no single standard, and lower speeds can be required by local constraints.

High speed trains in the Midwest would be three times as energy efficient as cars and six times as energy efficient as planes. Additionally, trains pollute less than cars and airplanes, improving air quality.
At distances of less than 400 miles, high-speed trains can deliver you downtown-to-downtown almost as fast as airplanes at a fraction of the cost, and can do so in virtually all weather.But the problem is,is it neccessary for a short trip such as from Oxford to London?OF course not because the ticket fee is probably much higher than taking a coach,so it's more convinient to sit on a coach for just almost an hour to come London

Furthermore,to invest in those infrastucture such as high speed rail needs a big amount of money!So it will reduce government's budget.This will lead to a decrease in investment of the Government to NHS or education.
But The economic value of the improved mobility has been valued at $13.2 billion through 2030.But this is just expectation,with a credit crunch like now,people will not be easily to attract to this way of travelling.

Cost-effective

• Costs just $1 million per mile – less than 1/10th the cost of highway construction.
• Every dollar of cost yields between $1.70 and $2.50 of benefits

But this is a really good way of reducing congestion for the country's economy.Many people like travelling and also in the future high speed rail will be instead of underground system so there will be less public transports,such as normal trains or buses.And there will be less negative externalities because of pollution