Duffy announces rollback of noise emissions standards to clear way for high-speed rail

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said America could soon see high-speed trains after his administration moved to deregulate certain railway noise pollution standards.The Transportation Department announced its proposed rule on Friday, seeking to reform noise emissions regulations for trains that travel between 160 and 220 miles per hour. There are currently no high-speed trains in the U.S. that reach over 160 miles per hour, and Duffy said the regulations on noise pollution have been a large roadblock to getting that infrastructure.“This administration is cutting through the red tape that has stopped rail innovators from building in America before,” Duffy said in a statement on Friday. “We’re making it attractive to businesses and investors to partner with USDOT and develop high speed rail here in the U.S.” The fastest train in the U.S. is Amtrak’s NextGen Acela train, which reaches up to 160 miles per hour. The train runs along Amtrak’s northeastern corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston and was unveiled in August 2025. The train falls within existing EPA noise pollution regulatory standards.These noise pollution regulations cap the decibels that trains and locomotives are allowed to reach during operation. Noise pollution, or loud, disruptive noises, can cause health impacts on humans and wildlife in the surrounding environment.The Transportation Department argues that with the noise pollution regulations currently in place, the U.S. would be unable to fully operate high-speed rail systems.“Because certain levels of aerodynamic noise are impractical or impossible to avoid for train operations that exceed 160 mph, existing rail noise emission regulations would prevent full utilization of such operations in the United States,” the proposed rule explains.The proposed rule sets forth “optional” alternative rules for noise emissions from trains traveling between 160 and 220 miles per hour, stating that “a railroad could continue to demonstrate high-speed train noise emission compliance in accordance with the existing standards” if it can remain in compliance. The proposal also includes a special approval process for trains that reach over 220 miles per hour.“One of the reasons we don’t have true high speed rail in the United States is because current rules disadvantage trains that generate most of their noise from sources other than their engines and rolling stock instead of approaching the issue holistically,” Federal Railroad Administration Administrator David Fink said. “Updating this rule will remove a major obstacle railroads currently face when trying to operate high speed trains.” The fastest trains in the world reach over 220 miles per hour by using a technology called magnetic levitation, or maglev, which allows the train to propel forward using magnetic fields that lift the system off the track, keeping noise pollution to a minimum.TRUMP ANNOUNCES TWO-YEAR, $22 BILLION DULLES AIRPORT RENOVATIONCountries like Japan, France, and China all have extremely fast maglev trains that have reached over 300 miles per hour on certain test runs.The Transportation Department said its new rule proposal also cut operator regulations to get rid of equipment modifications deemed unnecessary by the department. The Federal Railroad Administration said it expects the proposed reforms to save high-speed rail developers $100 million in the next three decades.