The world leader in high-speed rail travel, China is exporting its industry know-how to the United States, which is showing signs of adopting the mode of transportation, but costs and politics remain hurdles, report William Hennelly and Hezi Jiang from New York.

In the high-speed rail arms race, the United States is not a superpower. That title is being contested by countries such as China, Japan, France, Germany and Spain.

Politics, cost and the distance between cities are some of the reasons why high-speed rail (HSR) in the US hasn't really gotten on track.

In April 2009, during President Barack Obama's first year in office, the Department of Transportation issued a report called Vision for High-Speed Rail in America.

"After leading the world in rail development during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States has more recently lagged behind other countries in developing modern intercity passenger rail," the report said. "Over the last several decades, many countries in Europe and Asia have developed HSR systems."

The obstacles to HSR cited in the report were lack of expertise and resources; state fiscal constraints; a need for partnerships with private railroads that own some of the track; multi-state partnerships (because some HSR lines will cross state lines) and a need for safety standards.

While the US has been slow to embrace HSR, China has built the largest HSR network in the world with more than 16,000 kilometers (9,900 miles) of track as of December 2014, followed by Spain, Japan and France.

Japan is a pioneer in HSR; the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which began operating in 1964, is considered the world's first high-speed rail line.