At a conference in San Francisco, representatives from France, Germany, and Japan revealed the secrets behind their high-speed rail success stories

He said that underscores the problem in the U.S., where high-speed rail has gotten politicized, even though there's nothing inherently conservative or liberal about it. "There has to be political will," across the spectrum, he said. "If there had been political will in California, the state would have done something other than Prop. 1A," he said. Prop. 1A, the 2008 measure put before voters in California to build a high-speed train between San Francisco and Los Angeles, only authorized $10 billion, which, even at the time, was only a small fraction of what was required to see the project through.

He also stressed that even by the time France finished its first prototypes, the technology was relatively mature. "Let's not talk about 'innovations.' Just bring the trains to market," he said. And it's because France's TGV was based on conventional rail that it can slow down and use existing lines, immediately expanding the service and providing blended, one-seat rides throughout France. "Interoperability is a must," he said.