Speaker: Dr. Francesca Pagliara, associate professor of transportation engineering, University of Naples Federico II

The history of rail transport has seen several distinct stages of technological and organizational development. Since its introduction in 1964, high-speed rail has ushered in a new era marked by transformative, positive impact on economies and societies.

Francesca Pagliara has spent her life studying these effects in dozens of countries throughout the world. Drawing from international case studies, she has identified a “top 10” list of measurable benefits of high-speed rail investment. From enhanced safety and energy efficiency to boosts in tourism, job creation, and GDP growth, her findings serve as a toolkit for proponents of high-speed trains in North America.

Listen as Pagliara shares more about these discoveries, what they mean for U.S. policymakers, and how Europe has made progress in favor of high-speed rail in recent years.

Dr. Francesca Pagliara is an associate professor of transportation engineering at the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II. She has held visiting and research positions at institutions such as Oxford University, ETH Zurich, and Beijing Jiaotong University, where she was appointed as adjunct professor for three years.

Pagliara leads the International Symposium on High-Speed Rail Socioeconomic Impacts, supported by the International Union of Railways (UIC). She is the author academic books in both Italian and English, including “Transportation Systems for Tourism” from 2023, along with over 200 papers.

Follow along by reading the presentation slides here

Originally recorded September 30, 2026

Speaker: Boris Lipkin, vice president of program development at STV

Boris Lipkin has a unique perspective to offer to those who want to see American high-speed rail built: he’s actually helped build it. Between 2018 and 2025, he served as the Northern California regional director at the California High-Speed Rail Authority, where he led the development of 160 miles of the system between San Francisco and Merced Counties.

In this discussion, Boris shares his personal insight into what makes such mega-infrastructure projects successful—and the challenges they can face. He identified six lessons in his recent paper Learning from California: Lessons Drawn from California High-Speed Rail for Other Large Infrastructure Projects, published by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San José State University. Join us as we uncover what other proposed high-speed rail projects—from Cascadia to the Illinois High-Speed Railway Commission—can do to lay a solid foundation.

Speaker: Beau Mills, chair, All Aboard NC

North Carolina is the third-fastest-growing state in the U.S. by population. As economic activity and travel demand increase, more train service is needed.

Enter All Aboard NC, a new organization “connecting the connectors”, assembling a strategic A-team of state and local leaders, chambers of commerce, metropolitan planning organizations, and partner advocacy groups. Its mission? To advance a regional rail network that serves all North Carolinians.

Seven proposed routes running through the Piedmont State were selected for the Corridor Identification and Development Program in 2023, with five more eligible for future rounds. In the same year, the S-Line project, which would provide a direct higher-speed passenger rail connection between Raleigh and Richmond, received a $1.09 billion federal investment—the largest single grant ever received by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Chair Beau Mills joins us to share more about All Aboard NC’s approach to train advocacy, the status of current projects, and what lies ahead in one of the most strategic battlegrounds for passenger rail expansion in the country.

Originally recorded June 5, 2026