Is High-Speed Rail The Answer For Warsaw?

Have you heard of Warsaw, Indiana? If not, I’m guessing you are likely not in the medical device industry. Warsaw is regarded as the Orthopedics Capital of the world.

I came across a post from Ed Morrison titled “The Midwest High-Speed Rail Initiative” and was reminded of a recent article talking about the importance of high-speed rail to the Warsaw area.

Several months ago, BioCrossroads launched OrthoWorx to focus on the needs of the northern Indiana Orthopedics community. OrthoWorx says high-speed rail is critical to this community because of the orthopedics presence and Warsaw is “isolated geographically”.

I’ve been frequenting Warsaw for the past several months, doing some project management work for one of the largest orthopedics companies located in that community. The trip is 3+ hours, one-way, regardless of the route that I take. During my trips to and from, I’ve thought quite a bit about the needs of Warsaw. And I wonder how high-speed rail is going to make a significant positive impact for that community. These orthopedic companies have been in the area for a long time. They have deep roots in the community and don’t appear to be leaving any time soon. Would high-speed rail really take Warsaw out of geographic isolation, or enough so to make a substantial difference?