AMERICA pays more for fast passenger trains than almost any other country. That's partially because, as this blog has explained before, safety rules promulgated by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) require American passenger trains to be heavy enough to withstand crashes with giant freight trains. American trains also have to operate with two locomotives, one at the front and one at the rear. Neither requirement is in effect in most other countries. In short, European and Japanese passenger trains are much lighter and, consequently, faster than their American counterparts because lighter, faster trains are illegal in America.

European countries also tend to rely on Electrical Multiple Units, or EMUs, for their trains. EMUs work like subways: every car can operate under its own power; there's no need for a separate locomotive. In 2011, when Amtrak ordered 70 new locomotives for $466m—$6.7m each—Gulliver said the government-owned passenger railroad would have been better off waiting for a rule change so that it could buy lighter, cheaper trains.

Now, 18 months later, Amtrak's finally coming around to that point of view. The company will push for changes to America's rail-safety rules so that the next trains it buys can be lighter and faster, Bloomberg reports. The railroad recently decided that it will gradually replace its flawed, heavy, and relatively slow Acela high-speed trains. (The Acelas, which operate in the crucial northeast corridor between Boston and Washington and run far below their maximum speeds, are nevertheless the closest thing to high-speed rail America currently has.) Changing the FRA rules is a key step towards replacing the Acelas with something better. Amtrak will probably still overpay—the market for high-speed trains in the country isn't large, and laws require Amtrak equipment to be built in America—but, if all goes well, it will get an improved product. This story will get more attention as the rules are developed and released.