The High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 authorized $90 million to start a federal government initiative to develop and demonstrate high-speed ground technologies. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the measure as part of his Great Society initiatives.
“We have airplanes which fly three times faster than sound,” Johnson said in signing the measure. “We have television cameras that are orbiting Mars. But we have the same tired and inadequate mass transportation between our towns and cities that we had 30 years ago.”
The bill, which received broad bi-partisan support, included creating regular Metroliner service between New York City and Washington, D.C. It also resulted in the Office of High-Speed Ground Transportation in the Department of Commerce.
