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News

Michigan’s High Speed Train Plan: On Track or Derailed?

From Michigan Radio

Thursday, the Obama administration plans to announce which states will receive billions of dollars to build high-speed rail systems. Michigan officials are among those paying close attention.

Last year’s federal economic stimulus act included $8 billion for developing high speed rail. The Obama administration has been wading thru the various proposals sent in by states and is now ready to announce the winners.

Michigan is part of an 8-state bid, which would include a high speed rail hub in the president’s home city of Chicago. The bid has a high speed rail link to Detroit.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1604817/Top.Stories/Michigan’s.High.Speed.Train.Plan.On.Track.or.Derailed.

News

Obama to Announce High-Speed Rail Plan Post-Speech

From Mass Transit Magazine/Associated Press

A day after delivering a State of the Union address aimed at showing recession-weary Americans he understands their struggles, President Barack Obama intends to award $8 billion in stimulus funds to develop high-speed rail corridors and sell the program as a jobs creator.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plan to announce grants for 13 major corridors during a town hall meeting in Tampa, Fla., Thursday, the president’s first public appearance following his speech to the nation. It’s an attempt by the White House to show that getting Americans back to work is the president’s top priority and that he has a plan for how to do it.

The president’s visit to the region means Florida’s proposal for a high-speed line connecting Orlando and Tampa is likely to receive funding. California’s proposal for an 800-mile-long rail line from Sacramento to San Diego and a nine-state proposal in the Midwest are also considered strong contenders.

http://www.masstransitmag.com/publication/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=10557&pageNum=1

FYI

American Public Transportation Association praises Obama’s High Speed Rail Vision

APTA President William Millar Praises the Obama Administration for Its Vision on High-Speed Rail
“This Is the Beginning of a New Era”    

Statement by American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William Millar

“With the pending announcements of the first federal grants for high-speed rail, I praise the Obama Administration for taking this historic step toward bringing the vision of high-speed passenger rail to fruition in America. It is the beginning of our nation’s journey in implementing high-speed rail and higher-speed rail and creating a world-class, multi-modal transportation system.  This time will be remembered as the beginning of a new era in transportation.

Investing in high-speed rail is essential for our country’s future.  Not only will high-speed rail provide faster and quicker travel, but it will create American jobs now while building a new industry with hundreds of thousands of long-term, sustainable jobs. 

While ensuring that America remains an economic engine with good, “green” American jobs, high-speed rail is also essential so that we can move toward a sustainable, modern transportation system that meets the environmental and energy challenges of this century. 

These grants for high-speed rail mean that we are much closer to a world-class transportation system that demonstrates the vision of a connected America.  They put us on the right track to connecting our transportation network so that people can take high-speed rail and easily transfer to local public transportation services to reach their destination. 

As long-time advocates for high-speed rail, APTA and its membership are enthusiastic about the coming high-speed rail grant announcements.  There is a lot of work ahead and we look forward to the challenge of making high-speed rail a reality.”

 http://www.apta.com/mediacenter/pressreleases/2010/Pages/100127_.aspx

News

Group battling for survival of Pere Marquette train

From the St. Joseph Herald Palladium

BENTON HARBOR – Momentum is growing to lobby state transportation policy makers for a meeting to resolve the future of Amtrak stops in Bangor, New Buffalo and St. Joseph.

All three stops are served by the Pere Marquette route, whose future has been clouded by a proposed rail service realignment for the Midwest.

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission’s executive director, K. John Egelhaaf, is among local officials lobbying to meet with the Michigan Department of Transportation, said Nickolas Musson, an associate planner with the commission.

“We’re just trying to establish this dialogue between MDOT and the people in this region because they really need to know what’s going on and understand what’s going on,” he said.

News

Local Planners To Lobby State On Behalf Of Amtrak Line

From WSJM 1400 AM & 94.9 FM

Local planning officials are working on a plan to save the Pere Marquette Amtrak line, as documents from the Michigan Department of Transportation indicate that the agency may be planning to phase it out. Executive Director of the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission K- John Egelhaaf says that maps for a project called the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative don’t include the local passenger line:

http://www.wsjm.com/pages/6212740.php?contentType=4&contentId=5471785