$1.1 billion for high-speed rail in Missouri and Illinois
Updated: Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill released this statement about on receiving the high-speed rail funding.
“This substantial spending from the stimulus for Missouri will prepare our rail lines for high-speed rail which will provide faster rail service across Missouri. It represents a boon for our local and regional economy, helping to create jobs and move goods, services and people across the Midwest. This stimulus money further shows that Missouri projects can compete for and earn federal funding without relying on the earmark process,” McCaskill said.
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Last April, President Obama touted high-speed rail, right here, in Kansas City (and St. Louis and Chicago, too). Sounds closer to happening now. The White House released a “fact sheet” yesterday — and this map.
The entire corridor, which includes Chicago and St. Louis as well, will cost around $1.1 billion. The fact sheet says the trains will reach speeds of 110 mph from Chicago to St. Louis on to KC “with up to eight daily round trips between Chicago and St. Louis.”
Right now, there are five daily round trips between Chi-town and the STL, and two between STL and KC.
Here’s our part:
St. Louis – Kansas City: Improvements on the St.
Louis to Kansas City service are expected to provide sizable service
reliability improvements; on-time performance on the route is projected
to increase from 18 percent in 2008 to 85 percent in fi ve years.
Numerous construction projects, including the expansion of existing
railroad bridges and universal crossovers, as well as improved grade
crossings, will be funded on this segment.
Last April, Obama said, “There’s no reason why we can’t do this. This is America. There’s no
reason why the future of travel should lie somewhere else beyond our
borders. Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be
faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an
already overburdened aviation system — and everybody stands to benefit.”
Read the full fact sheet here.
