President Obama delivers on American High-Speed Rail

I have looked forward to this day for a long time.

It is a great honor--a great honor--to have President Obama and Vice President Biden in Tampa, Florida, to announce our American Recovery and Reinvestment Act High-Speed and Inter-city Passenger Rail grants.

 
The investments we announce today make rail a viable transportation alternative in many regions. With this historic $8 billion investment by President Obama, we are jump-starting American High-Speed rail.

The bulk of today's awards go to new, large-scale high-speed rail programs--projects such as Florida, with $1.25 billion to develop a high-speed rail corridor between Tampa and Orlando with trains running up to 168 miles per hour--and California, with $2.25 billion to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and points in between with trains running up to 220 miles per hour.

In total, 31 states and the District of Columbia will receive awards. In addition to 13 corridor investments, we are also awarding several grants for improvement projects and planning. These efforts on existing routes and emerging corridors will lay the groundwork for future high-speed and intercity rail development. 

I've said it before, and I believe it even more today: this is an absolute game-changer for American transportation.

We will make passenger rail more efficient, providing better service in travel markets across the country.

• High-speed rail travel offers competitive door-to-door trip times
• It reduces congestion on key routes between cities
• It reduces transportation emissions
• And, most of all, it creates the jobs of the future, the jobs America needs right now

Look, I am very proud of what our transportation infrastructure helps us achieve every day. Moving hundreds of millions of people and millions of tons of goods from place to place. It's amazing.

But it's not good enough. It's the infrastructure of a previous century, one with plentiful energy and no sense of the role carbon emissions play in our health and the health of our planet. And it's not adequate for the growth of our nation's population, its commerce, its mobility.

We need an expansive, safe and energy efficient rail transportation network. We need to generate economic development. We need to reposition our infrastructure for the 21st century.

As we mentioned last April when we announced the program, our overall strategy has two parts: improving our existing rail lines to make current train service faster and identifying potential corridors for the creation of world-class high-speed rail.

Today’s awards begin us down the path toward these goals.

Now, the particular investments we're making today--they make sense. We're connecting cities that are too close for efficient air travel but--with the highways connecting these cities nearly choked beyond capacity--too far for productive road travel. Cities like St. Louis and Chicago.

We know that people already want to travel between these cities; we're here to begin making that downtown-to-downtown travel significantly easier, faster, and more productive.

As I've mentioned on this blog before we received many more applications than we had funds to distribute. States and regions and communities across the United States are clamoring for high-speed service.

But some areas are just not ready. In some areas, investments to lay the groundwork for increasing the speed and reliability of current service have been deferred and deferred.

Today we're fixing that. We've made awards to states to improve existing track, repair tunnels and bridges, and increase the speeds of lines already serving passengers.

We can't just put faster trains on old tracks and send them across bridges that need repairs. So, with these targeted investments, passengers will see many benefits in the near term.

High-speed rail corridors will offer competitive door-to-door trip times. From Los Angeles to San Francisco, a 2-hour 40-minute comfortable ride from city center to city center will replace a 6-hour trek of fighting traffic to get out of one downtown and fighting traffic to get into another.

High-speed rail will create jobs now and for the foreseeable future. We have commitments from over 30 companies in the rail business to create or expand U.S. rail manufacturing should they be awarded contracts for portions of this money. These companies know high-speed rail, and they could become partners to those awarded rail grants.

What kind of jobs? Planning rail networks; designing, producing, and laying miles and miles of track; building, installing, maintaining, and operating equipment; constructing or upgrading stations, tunnels, and bridges; operating the routes.

It's pretty clear we're talking about a lot of jobs--tens of thousands. And let's be clear about this: that $8 billion will do its job-creation work right here in America.

High-speed rail reduces oil use and the environmental costs of the mobility we prize so dearly. Hey, I'm an old-fashioned guy who grew up in the Midwest--I love cars. But let's be realistic; cars are the least efficient method of travel we have, even with our fuel-economy standards. Rail ridership takes cars off the road.

Now, before we get too carried away with the very near future, I have to remind everyone about the past. The interstate highway system that we take for granted today did not materialize overnight. It has taken over a half-century, and we're still building onto the network.

But, the point is that today we can take it for granted. Our highways take us where we need to go, and the nationwide coast-to-coast system has been a model for the rest of the world.

And President Obama’s vision for high-speed rail mirrors that of President Eisenhower, the father of that Interstate highway system. 

It's also worth pointing out that designing, building, expanding, and maintaining those highways has created job after job after job for decades. When completed, the highways brought people. People brought small businesses and more jobs.

We have no reason to expect that developing high-speed rail will not also be an engine of jobs and economic development.

And someday--tens of thousands of good-paying jobs from now, one reborn American manufacturing sector from now, and many federal-regional-state and public-private partnerships from now--we will be able to take for granted an efficient high-speed rail network that is equally the pride of our nation and an engine of growth.

Until that day, we do have some learning to do. I have seen high-speed rail working in Spain and just being introduced in Russia. Only last week, I heard lessons from the experience of developing a network in Japan.

These countries have all seen the future; these countries have all made the commitment that we make today with President Obama's initial investments in Florida and 30 other states.

And I assure you that one day, not too many years from now, ours will be the go-to network, the world's model for high-speed rail.

Today we embark on the first step of that exciting journey. Today, as promised, we change the game.

Comments

[Randy]

too bad there is no high speed plans linking the country East to West, looks like we are behind the world significantly...

[gblatham]

I completely disagree with the way this matter is being handled.

I have written a column - what I envision as the first of several - to help explain my various issues.

http://myprogressiverailroading.com/blogs/gblatham/archive/2010/06/18/obama-speed-rail.aspx

Thank you,
Garl Boyd Latham
Dallas, Texas

[gblatham]

Thank you so much for your willingness to accept my previous comment and link.

Here is the second column of the series:

http://myprogressiverailroading.com/blogs/gblatham/archive/2010/06/30/high-speed-rail-is-not-the-starting-point.aspx

With sincere appreciation,
Garl B. Latham
Dallas

[NAMB]

will the train stations be pedestrian and bike friendly? Will I be able to bring my bike onto the train?

MOST IMPORTANTLY will this be affordable, like European and Asian HSR?

[gblatham]

To the kind people at "Fast Lane"...

Here is a link to the next article in my series:

http://myprogressiverailroading.com/blogs/gblatham/archive/2010/07/09/the-myth-of-quot-higher-speed-rail-quot.aspx

As always, I greatly appreciate your understanding and willingness to disseminate ideas - even when in variance with the U.S. D.O.T.'s.

Best wishes,
Garl B. Latham

[buy soma online]

This all sounds great & I have been all for this. However, I (heard from an untrustworthy source) that the government has made a deal with a company in Spain to make these trains. Is this true?

[Carbon Fiber Hoods]

What about China's high speed rail system has been improved over time. Their country is similar to ours in size, instead of spending money on wars couldn't we make high speed carbon fiber trains so people who don't work downtown don't have to pay so much to live in places like New York on Los Angeles. Shipping prices could also be reduced. Trains are the most efficient mode of transportation, if the government is going to spend money on anything, it should be something that increases productivity and lowers costs.

[Texas Electricity]

I believe that high-speed rail is needed in our country. I look forward to reduced congestion on our roads, less emissions, and the jobs this can create for our country.

[create a free blog]

Yes, much of the US population does lie east of the Mississippi, but the West's population is growing, particularly in inter-mountain region. It begs the question, again, are there future plans to connect all these separate regions? Rail works, when people can go where they actually want to go. It would be useful to ensure you are putting in lines where travels want to go.

[Mike]

* High-speed rail travel offers competitive door-to-door trip times
* It reduces congestion on key routes between cities
* It reduces transportation emissions
* And, most of all, it creates the jobs of the future, the jobs America needs right now

These are all Valid points and I feel we need some sort of a burst to commuter transport, we had a road explosion in the 40's and 50's and well it provides jobs as well as a means for us to get where we need to go without having to use more fossil fuels.

-M

[Hoo]

it is a great news to america, and travellers are easier to go out from city to city. But when the whole projects are finished? or still in discussion? thanks.

[Lyn]

I echo Eric's response, Boston to Chicago sounds like a much better proposition.

[amardkcihc]

i wonder if this will be the beginning of a new era in transportation opptions ?

[Mido]

Thank you for a great article too

[apartmani beograd]

Good news. This is a huge investment.

[inmotion hosting review]

Hi,what Obama is initiating for America is what the world needs.If Obama administration has their stratgy in place then America should be proud and take the lead to promote green .Afterall,we need such innovation in other industrialised country to raise their economy in an helthy way which will cause no major harm to the environment as well as the people which is the heart of the government.

[Dan Weight Loss Diet Man]

I'm in total agreement with the chap who said that people make small economic decisions in all choices in their lives and not decisions based on the good of the country. The US is making some incredulous decisions right now, not least with its monetary policies - and it's dragging the UK down with it!

[Matthew]

It is high time America had genuine high-speed inter-city rail. An appeal to our representatives in government from ALL parties: Do not let this long-overdue and forward-looking infrastructure development plan get side-tracked by partisan politics and the interests of individual states.

Some governors are actually running on a platform to "stop the train" - how tragic! America needs fast and efficient alternatives to individual transportation. Will rail have to be subsidized - of course it will. But so does every other form of transportation - our national road network costs taxpayers billions in upkeep. So do our airports. Unlike airports, however, there are few hassles with rail travel. We just need FASTER trains, not the dilapidated old rails and trains we're stuck with now.

It currently takes over 4 hours to travel the less than 200 miles from Boston to New York on Amtrak (3 and 1/2 hours if you take Acela, the "high speed" option). Compare this to the train from Madrid to Barcelona in Spain, which travels over 300 miles in 2 and 3/4 hours. For inter-city travel, especially in the northeast region, high-speed trains make more sense than planes, which require long waits in security lines.

Please, find the political will to make this a priority, for me and for my children. Give us all cause to take pride in being Americans again.

[gblatham]

Here is a link to the fourth and final entry in my series:

http://myprogressiverailroading.com/blogs/gblatham/archive/2010/08/26/and-then-the-feds-blinked.aspx

As always, a most sincere "thank you"!

Garl B. Latham
Dallas, Texas

[starralex76]

I'd think that there would be a future link between Cleveland or Columbus and either Pittsburgh or Buffalo. It would be useful to ensure you are putting in lines where travels want to go. Trains are much more economical, and potentially more green.

[william Gilmore]

LETS DO IT NOW

[Llyon100]

INDUSTRIAL BENEFITS AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: The U.S. currently does not have a domestic high speed rail industry, meaning that large parts of a high speed rail system will be purchased from foreign companies. U.S. sellers of significant defense equipment offshore usually face the requirement by the importing nation that sellers sales proposals include "industrial benefits" (IB) and either give points towards determining the winning proposal and/or require certain minimum levels of participation which usually exceed 30% of the proposed price.

Industrial benefit credit programs may involve a series of criteria including the transfer of technology and purchase of project related equipment in the purchasing jurisdiction.

Considering that the high speed rail projects will be administered by state and local agencies, revision of state laws will be necessary to allow alternate contract types in addition to low price bid build and design bid contracts since many would not allow implementation of this type of program.

Its common for nations such as Canada, U.K., Korea, Japan, Australia and other to include IB requirements in foreign purchases and the U.S. should do the same.

[escorte]

I echo Eric's response, Boston to Chicago sounds like a much better proposition. and this is god point

[escorte]

Thank you so much for your willingness to accept my previous comment and link.

[car rental perth]

How about the law about renting cars? Will it affect the market that much that he would like to stop it?