Express passenger trains linking America's major metropolises. It's an idea whose time has come and gone and, thankfully, come again. Just don't expect them to come to Utah any time soon.

When the Federal Railroad Administration released its list of intercity rail corridors eligible for high-speed rail funding last spring, there was a hole the size of the Intermountain West on the map. It wasn't an oversight.

When you start connecting the big-city dots in the Intermountain West, it's a long way between dots. Higher-density corridors in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and on the West Coast are more logical places to pursue high-speed rail pilot projects. And it appears Utah will continue to be served by a pokey old Amtrak diesel train -- 15 hours from Salt Lake City to Denver -- for the foreseeable future.

In China, Japan and Europe, bullet trains reaching speeds of 200 mph or more have been in service for decades and high-speed rail networks are expanding, for good reasons. Powered by electricity, the trains are clean, energy-efficient and, by eliminating waiting, provide faster service than airlines on short hauls. They also relieve, to a small degree, air pollution, greenhouse-gas emissions, dependence on foreign oil and gridlock on freeways and airport taxiways.

But in the U.S., where cars are king, the closest thing to a 200 mph train is a bumper-to-bumper NASCAR race. That could change. At long last the U.S. is entering the

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bullet-train derby, providing grants for promising projects with an $8 billion down payment from federal stimulus funds. The Obama administration also promised another $1 billion a year for the next five years, and the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, the nation's proposed five-year transportation spending plan, contains $50 billion for high-speed rail. Will Utah get a taste?

The Utah Transit Authority is carrying the flag for the state where they drove the golden spike, paying dues of $5,000 per month to join the Western High-Speed Rail Alliance, which will conduct a study exploring the potential for high-speed rail in the region. It's a modest investment that could pay big dividends if our rapidly growing population one day warrants inclusion in the national network.

Building off a proposed Los Angeles to Las Vegas route, UTA boss John Inglish envisions an eventual loop from Vegas to Salt Lake City and west to Sacramento, where it would rejoin the Golden State's high-speed network.

It won't happen overnight. Neither did the Interstate Highway system. But the UTA is wise to buy our state a seat at the table, and a voice in the national debate.