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Reporting by Lisa Lambert and John Crawley; Editing by James Dalgleish

U.S. announces $2.4 billion for high-speed rail (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69R3PK20101028?pageNumber=2)

(Reuters) - The federal government will send $2.4 billion to 54 high-speed rail projects in 23 states, the Transportation Department said on Thursday, following up on announcements made by members of Congress and governors earlier in the week.


"States understand that high-speed rail represents a unique opportunity to create jobs, revitalize our manufacturing base, spur economic development and provide people with an environmentally friendly transportation option," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement.

Below is a list of the states receiving money. Some projects run through more than one state, and a handful of states are involved in multiple projects.

California.......................... $901.574 million

Florida..................................$808 million

Illinois, Iowa , Nebraska ................ $230 million

Connecticut, Delaware , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts ,

New Hampshire, New Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania , Rhode
Island, Vermont , Washington , D.C........ $198 million

North Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC .. $68 million

Michigan, Indiana , Illinois .............$161 million

Illinois, Missouri , Kansas ................ $4 million

Minnesota, Wisconsin , Illinois ......... $43.7 million

Washington, Oregon.................... $38.719 million

(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and John Crawley; Editing by James Dalgleish)


http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69R3PK20101028

yea ! (this should have been done after the Arab oil embargo in the 70s)

Sounds like a drop in the bucket.

Denver metro area is spending $7.9 Billion (68% over budget) and counting on a FasTrack region rail system that may never to be completed. 2042 is the latest completion date and that is after major cutback on proposed coverage as the costs explode. Colorado government has collected taxes expressly for this railway since the 1970s, and repackaged it (with new taxes) as something new and different as the public forgets, and there is little to show so far.

Compare to China:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/08/china-high-speed-rail-leave-us-in-the-dust.php

This isn't really "high speed rail". Its just normal rail that the rest of the civilized world already has.

The $38M targeted for OR/WA will be money well spent. Our regional Amtrak service boasts high ridership, but the 4x/daily service between Seattle and Portland takes 3.5 hours -- that is, about half an hour longer than driving. That's mostly because the trains are speed limited to 79mph due to grade level crossings and a few stretches of substandard track.

With crossing and track improvements, SEA-to-PDX service could eventually drop to 2.5 hours. That's faster than you can drive it, and competitive with flying this busy route (scheduled flights at least every 45 minutes) when you count in all the hassles of flying. Fast enough to get SERIOUS numbers of people on board.