![Opportunity Cost of Inaction: High-Speed Rail and High Performance Passenger Rail in the United States](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Screen-shot-2012-07-12-at-2.54.06-PM.png)
AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION
This paper addresses the initial investment and on-going cost of operation and maintenance of high- performance passenger rail (HPPR) in four of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) sanctioned HPPR regional networks – Northeast, Chicago Hub, California, and Northwest – over a 40 year period. The system can generate a net benefit of at least $660 million annually. If the nation should forgo this opportunity, it stands to sustain a cost of at least $26.4 billion in foregone economic benefits over the next four decades.