The U.S. has been slow to adopt high-speed rail, but major proposed projects are now gaining steam nationwide. On August 13, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. Stephen Mattingly, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Declared interests:
Dr. Mattingly conducts expert witness case evaluations and external evaluations of research activities and programs through Owl Evaluations. He is currently the president of the International Professional Association for Transport & Health (IPATH). He currently a co-project investigator on projects funded by the United States Department of Transportation and Texas Department of Transportation.
TV bundle includes:
Soundbite (SOT)
VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
Raw, full-length interview video & log with timecodes (upon request via form below)
These resources are free to use. No attribution to SciLine is required.
Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
ANCHOR THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN SLOW TO GET ON BOARD WITH HIGH-SPEED RAIL… EVEN AS MAJOR PROJECTS PICK UP STEAM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
VO DOCTOR STEPHEN MATTINGLY… A CIVIL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON… SAYS HIGH-SPEED RAIL MEANS TRAINS THAT TRAVEL AT LEAST 150-MILES-PER-HOUR… SOMETHING WE DON’T YET HAVE IN THE U-S.
ONE MAJOR CHALLENGE… THE COSTLY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SUPPORT IT.
AND UNLIKE IN EUROPE OR JAPAN… HE SAYS MANY PLACES HERE ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR TRAVEL WITHOUT A CAR.
SO EVEN IF YOU TAKE A TRAIN TO ANOTHER CITY… YOU OFTEN STILL NEED TO DRIVE TO GET AROUND… MAKING TRAIN TRAVEL LESS CONVENIENT.
SOT Duration: 0:32 Super: Dr. Stephen Mattingly – Professor, University of Texas at Arlington
“I love high-speed rail as a technology. I think it’s got definite applications because it is beneficial, especially from an environmental perspective. But we need to be very careful in the choices that we make as a country on where those public investments in high-speed rail would actually make sense and worthwhile investments of our money.”
VO RIGHT NOW… THE FASTEST TRAIN IN THE U-S IS AMTRAK’S ACELA… WHICH RUNS BETWEEN BOSTON AND WASHINGTON D-C… ALONG THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR.
IT CAN REACH 150-MILES-PER-HOUR… BUT ONLY ON SHORT STRETCHES OF TRACK… MAKING IT NOT COMPARABLE TO OTHER COUNTRIES OR TECHNICALLY CONSIDERED HIGH-SPEED TRAVEL… ACCORDING TO DOCTOR MATTINGLY.
Raw, full-length interview covers:
What defines high-speed rail and how it differs from conventional train travel;
The advantages of high-speed rail – including faster travel, reduced road and air traffic, and lower emissions;
What’s held the U.S. back from a national high-speed rail system – from infrastructure gaps to policy hurdles; and
Large-scale projects currently in development, with proposals in California and Washington state, as well as a potential coast-to-coast line.
