Midwest High Speed Rail Association e-mail update

An e-mail update from Rick Harnish at the Midwest High Speed Rail Assocation:

There are two interesting developments that I would like to update you on.

First, I’m very excited to report that the Midwest High Speed Rail Association publicly released the first-ever feasibility study of a 220 mph high-speed line connecting St. Louis to Chicago.

We did a series of press conferences in downstate cities last week.  It was exciting to see local leaders quickly grasp how high-speed trains will transform the Midwest economy.

The study is available here and it shows that a 1 hour 52 minute trip between St. Louis and Chicago is feasible. The report is the first step in building the case for 220-mph lines connecting all the major cities in the Midwest.

This is a big step.  Less than a year ago, 110-mph trains seemed like a distant goal.  Now, due to the leadership of President Obama, Senator Durbin, Governor Quinn and others 110-mph Amtrak trains will link Bloomington-Normal, IL, Madison, WI, St. Louis, MO, Springfield, IL, and other communities to Chicago in just a few short years.

We are excited that the 110-mph projects are moving forward, but the longer lead time involved with 220-mph lines makes it urgent that we begin the planning right now.

Here is the link to the study:  https://www.midwesthsr.org

Second, the bipartisan leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have agreed to push for $50 billion for high-speed trains over the next six years!

This is the biggest potential commitment to high-speed trains any congressional leader has ever made, and is large enough to finally develop the high-speed rail network our nation needs to help break our addiction to foreign oil and reinvigorate our economy by linking our cities together.

You can read the proposal by Congressmen Jim Oberstar (D-MN), John Mica (R-FL), Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and John Duncan (R-TN) in the “In the Spotlight” section at: https://Transportation.house.gov/

Please ask your two U.S. Senators and your Member of the House of Representatives to support the proposal to spend $50 billion on high-speed trains over the next six years by clicking here.