High-speed rail projects closer to reality with fund allocation

High-speed rail projects closer to reality

High-speed rail projects in California and Florida are one step closer to fruition with the allocation of $53 billion in federal funding that will supplement the total funding for those rail programs.

By providing partial funding from the federal government, the White House is encouraging states to pour in their own funding to get the rail plans completed.

Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled the six-year plan Tuesday in Philadelphia. The program aims to connect 80 percent of Americans in the next 25 years through a network of high-speed rail and intercity trains.

"In a global economy, we can't forget that infrastructure is also the veins and the arteries of commerce," the Vice President said.

Improving infrastructure has been one of President Barack Obama's main objectives to maintain America's competitiveness and create more jobs especially in a down economy.

California and Florida are set to receive the majority of the money from the federal government, which has already earmarked $10.5 billion for passenger-rail projects earlier.

The first salvo of $8 billion in funding will be proposed in the federal budget to be released next week for approval by lawmakers.

It will likely meet stiff opposition from Republicans as expected. The GOP has described the projects as unnecessary spending by the federal government.

Wisconsin and Ohio, which just elected Republican governors not in favor of the plan, have shunned federal money for rail projects due to fears that they may be too costly.

The administration is defending its ambitious high-speed rail projects. "We all agree we need to cut spending to get the deficit under control," Biden acknowledged but also said, "When it comes to jobs, there are three key places where we cannot compromise. We cannot compromise on education, innovation or infrastructure."

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Wednesday February 09 2011, 3:19 AM EST. Ref: WSJ. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0