Nearly 150 years ago America built the first transcontinental railroad, and 10,000 Chinese laborers used pickaxes to cut tunnels and rail-lines for just $30 per month. Now, President Obama is promoting high-speed rail, and the Chinese are again involved.  This time, though, they don't just want to swing an axe.  They want to design and part-fund it and have Americans provide the labor. Alastair Leithead, a reporter with the BBC, has been looking at the story for their series "Power of Asia." We also hear from Brian Leung, an associate professor of creative writing at University of Louisville, the author of "Take Me Home" a book about Chinese Americans in the nineteenth century.

Yesterday, Berkshire Hathaway, the investment vehicle of billionaire Warren Buffett, announced it is buying up the remaining shares of railroad company Burlington Northern. It's a big bet on American rail, and a big bet on the American economy. It's also a telling sign of Buffett's belief that Americans aren't quite ready to go green, since almost half of Burlington Northern's cargo last year was coal. We speak to Phillip Longman, senior research fellow at the New America Foundation and author of “The Next Progressive Era: A Blueprint for Broad Prosperity.” Also with us is T.J. Stiles, author of “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.”

Last week, President Obama announced an ambitious goal to build a high-speed passenger rail line in ten regions across the country. But even if President Obama’s plans for passenger rail materialize, it won’t necessarily help the entire rail system. America's freight, the cargo that moves goods across the country by rail, is in big trouble. To look at the state of the rails, The Takeaway talks with Rick Karr, a correspondent for Blueprint America. His report on the nation’s ailing freight-rail system will air on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer tonight.

Imagine the ease of riding trains between metropolitan areas in the U.S. Simply buy a ticket, board a train, kick back and read, sleep, listen to your podcasts of The Takeaway. Doesn't that sound better than braving crowded airport drop-offs, hours-long security lines or snarled traffic on the interstate? This vision of the future of travel may become a reality. Yesterday, President Obama expressed his ambition towards building high-speed passenger rail lines in ten regions across the country. To discuss how this will be possible The Takeaway is joined by Matt Dellinger, a writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and the New York Times .

Here's a brief look at how one town, Springfield, is planning on upgrading their infrastructure: