because much of the existing rail track would need to be upgraded or completely rebuilt.

High-speed rail is a very specialized form of rail, and so it has to be purposely built for 200-mile-an-hour train operations.

So that requires a number of things that set it apart from standard train services.

To go those speeds, you need very straight geometries and not too many hills and curves.

And then it can't have any grade crossing.

So the full elimination of every grade crossing, that's where there's always train accidents.

And that's where the dangers are, is where a road and the train cross.

However, Kunz says the government needs to start backing this technology on a larger scale, instead of treating it like an occasional project.