HSR planning surges!

Yesterday, June 28th, the FRA announced that it will begin accepting applications for $2.1 billion in grants to continue the development of high-speed intercity passenger rail corridors. In addition, $245 million will be available for individual construction projects within corridors. Grant awards for the $2.1 billion and $245 million from the FY2010 DOT appropriations, are expected to be announced by September 30, 2010.

Keep in mind that the report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors projects HSR to benefit Chicago to the tune of up to $6.1 billion per year in new business and up to 42,000 jobs.

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a packed seminar for High Speed Rail in Chicago, which was sponsored by the Japan International Transport Institute and held at the Union League Club of Chicago. Our own Rick Harnish was among the keynote speakers. The large number of attendees at the seminar, coupled with the FRA funding announcements and the eagerness of countries with HSR to work with the Midwest, and the entire U.S. for that matter, are all signs of a rapidly approaching HSR reality for our region and our country.

Below: IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig addresses the crowd.

Illinois applies for cash to plan 220 mph service

Courtesy of Chicago Breaking News:

The state of Illinois has applied for $8 million in federal funds to help pay for planning regional high speed rail service.

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association on Monday said it applauded Illinois officials, including Gov. Pat Quinn, for making high speed rail a priority. The Illinois Department of Transportation applied for the grant money. The money would be used to begin designs for a 220-mph bullet train between Chicago and St. Louis.

The money would pay for the study of potential routes, the development of a business plan and an environmental review.

Rick Harnish, the executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, says the bullet trains "are critical to reinventing the Midwest" and meeting the region's environmental, energy and economic challenges.

$4 Billion for HSR in 2011

Our own Rick Harnish was on hand yesterday in Washington DC to support the call for the federal government to dedicate $4 billion towards high speed rail in 2011 and beyond. Please visit FourBillion.com to easily ask your legislators to support this measure.

photo courtesy of Transportation For America


*official press release

Congressional Subcommittee meets in Chicago to discuss HSR

The Congressional Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials met yesterday at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago to discuss the high-speed intercity passenger rail grants that were recently awarded under the stimulus act and the impact the grants will have on the region. Among the notable attendees were:

• Wisconsin Gov Jim Doyle reiterated the positive effect that HSR projects will have on Wisconsin's construction, engineering, and design & supply industries. Gov Doyle's testimony can be found here.
  
• Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky stated that rail funding would create more than 57,000 jobs, while making a long neglected national investment in rail transportation.
• Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski said Amtrak and Metra users should notice a difference in commuter times within two years.
• Our own Rick Harnish testified on the importance of 220 mph service.
  
• FRA Administrator Joe Szabo's testimony can be found here.

*After the hearing, Administrator Szabo stated that Positive Train Control, which under federal mandate must be implemented by 2015, could have prevented the tragic accident in University Park.
"Positive train control is probably the most significant safety initiative in the history of railroading and certainly something that would have the ability to prevent a tragedy like this,''

On the eve of something big...

It can be best to distract yourself from the anxiety of waiting to see what you'll wake up to. Perhaps we could use a distraction from the tension leading to tomorrow's BIG decision by the IOC about which city will host the 2016 Summer Olympics, so like a kid on Christmas Eve, I have a few things to pass the time until that decision comes down from Copenhagen.

First is a great post by the INFRASTRUCTURIST about Google's new 3D tour of old Penn Station.



Second is an interesting article by The Tribune's Blair Kamin, who says, "Chicago is not floating plans for major infrastructure improvements, like those that transformed Barcelona for the 1992 Games." I am optimistic that the reception of the bid will be a catalyst for those infrastructure improvements, not just in Chicago, but throughout the Midwest, that have long been talked about, but have lacked the necessary funding or hard deadline to get them built.

Finally, our own Rick Harnish spoke today at the Northwestern University Transportation Center about the future of HSR in the US. I had the pleasure the being there and listening not only to Rick, but to a great Q&A afterward that touched on everything from CREATE, freight, rail in Indiana, Cost Benefit Analysis of HSR and a range of other hot button issues.

All that remains to be seen now, is whether Chicago will be adding a fifth star to it's flag.