What the Stimulus Bill Means for High-Speed Rail

[babylonsister]

What the Stimulus Bill Means for High-Speed Rail
By Dave Demerjian EmailFebruary 25, 2009


Amtrak


The whining about who got what in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill is well underway, but you won't hear many complaints from high-speed rail advocates. They walked away with $8 billion.

That's an unprecedented sum considering the crumbs Amtrak has collected during the past 20 years, and rail boosters are gleefully predicting the money will lead to rail investment in almost every region of the country. Opponents of the funding, who at this point can do little but complain, say it's one large pig in a bill filled with pork, and will do little to help the economy, but that overlooks the fact it will, in the short-term, put people to work improving existing track and infrastructure.

Looking further ahead, the windfall will help finance "high speed rail corridors" capable of supporting trains traveling at speeds as great as 110 mph, creating the first-ever regional network of cities connected by fast rail for the first time.

Highspeed

The allocation makes good on Obama's campaign promise to show rail a little love, something Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood echoed when he said, "I think President Obama would like to be known as the high-speed rail president, and I think he can be."

Most of rail corridors proposed by the Department of Transportation are no-brainers. Expanding the north-south routes of the East Coast will create a rail network stretching from Portand, Maine, to New Orleans and Houston. The Southeast Corridor linking Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., with Atlanta acknowledges the growing economic importance of that region, and expanding service in California and the Pacific Northwest is equally smart.

more...

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/02/what-the-stimul.html

[jpak]

1. High speed rail from Portland! Woo Hoo!!

Now all they need is connecting AMTRAK service to the rest of Maine...

:thumbsup:

[YOY]

2. We're happy as can be.

Even the whiny Republicans (we have a few...amazing, no?) at Amtrak are happy about it.

I so want to work on those new rail projects.

[One_Life_To_Give]

3. Aren't most tracks owned by Freight Co's

Aren't most tracks owned by Freight Co's who have no need for high speed? While bullet trains require Welded Rails, cooridors fenced/walled off from accidental public access, etc.

I think the biggest problem with high speed rail on the east coast is finding open corridors in which to place the new rail lines in and out of cities.

[YOY]

4. Yes.

That's the biggest hurtle. Personally, I want our own dediated rails. Some of the freight companies work will with us. Union Pacific are a bunch of cork snorters.

[stuntcat]

5. some of us who can't drive want this stuff!! :D

I take Amtrak a couple of times a year but I can't take it to see my mom because she's in western NC and they don't go anywhere near her town.

Maybe someday though :bounce:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I've been waiting for years for this!

I hope it is only the start. I want to see the rail corridors connected--for example, the Texas routes need to connect with those in the Midwest--they could go through Arkansas (and I would actually be closer than a day's drive to a railhead). Once the nation has at least one rail line in each state, we can work on feeder lines and biodiesel buses to connect more rural areas.

When I was very young, I rode a train to get to big cities and far places. I want to be able to do that again.

[OhioChick]

7. K&R

:kick: