Senate
Measure Could Bring Network of Bullet Trains to the Midwest
Madison, WI
- A nationwide network of high speed bullet trains could soon be a reality
thanks to bipartisan legislation introduced today by Senators Kerry (D-MA), Specter (R-PA) and at
least a dozen other senators from both parties. The legislation provides two
necessary components for such a system: dedicated funding and federal
coordination. The legislation includes financing for federally-designated
rail corridors, one of which is the Chicago hub
corridor -- a main segment of the Chicago corridor
would run from Chicago to Minneapolis
by way of Milwaukee and Madison. Senator Kohl (WI) is
supportive of high-speed rail but was not a co-sponsor of this bill.
“High-speed rail would provide clean, safe, reliable and
efficient travel between America’s
population centers,” said Jesslyn Roebuck, the Transportation Associate with
WISPIRG, the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group. “Long-term federal
investment in rail would also create tens of thousands of quality jobs in
states that have experienced losses in the technology, construction, and
engineering sectors over the last decade.”
The High Speed Rail for America
would provide close to 25 billion in competitive grants and financing over six
years for high-speed intercity rail and infrastructure, including financing for
the federally-designated rail corridors, one of which is the Chicago hub network high speed rail corridor.
The bill also establishes a national office of high-speed rail to serve as a
central communication and planning hub.
Passenger rail ridership in the U.S. increased to new records each
of the last five years, and last year the total vehicle miles traveled for cars
and trucks fell for the first time since the oil crisis of the 1970s. Voters in
California earlier this month approved $10
billion in state funding toward development of a 220 mph route between Los Angeles and San
Francisco.
Meanwhile, America’s main
economic competitors in Europe, Japan,
Korea, and China have
invested hundreds of billions to develop thriving high speed rail systems that
efficiently and reliably move travelers between destinations while relieving
highways and airports of congestion.
“Decades ago, America completed the interstate
highway system,” said Roebuck. “Now, we face congestion on our highways and in
our skies, an addiction to oil, and an overheating planet. We need legislation like the High Speed Rail for America Act to
provide Americans a better way to go.”
The bill is cosponsored by a
bipartisan group of Senators, including Senators Kerry, Brown, Casey, Clinton, Dodd, Feinstein, Inouye, Lautenberg,
Lieberman, Menendez, Schumer, Snowe, Specter, Stabenow, Whitehouse.
