What’s the political secret to high-speed rail? Success breeds success, he told me, and Spanish politicians compete with each other to see who can deliver more mileage. On 27 August at Union Station in Washington, US transportation secretary Sean Duffy boarded the maiden voyage of Amtrak’s NextGen Acela trains, the largest investment in the railroad’s rolling stock in 25 years. Tracking nicely: Amtrak’s NextGen Acela train (Image: Amtrak)But hypocrisy be damned. In February, Canada’s now former prime minister Justin Trudeau unveiled plans for his country’s first high-speed rail corridor.