High-Speed Rail Moving Forward

From the St. Louis Business Journal:

The White House and the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday said it will invest $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and $1 billion a year for five years as a down payment to develop a passenger rail system.

The Obama administration has identified 10 possible high-speed rail projects, including one in the Midwest and nine others in the Northern New England corridor, New York, Pennsylvania, the South and Califorinia.

Earlier this week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, along with six other Midwestern governors and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him to support plans for rail corridors between cities in their states, including one connecting St. Louis to Chicago.