President Obama announced plans for a high-speed rail system in the United States. In his announcement he pointed out the success of high-speed trains in other countries.
"There's no reason why the future of travel should lie somewhere else, beyond our borders," President Obama said today in laying out the new transportation plans. "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 over-burdened aviation system, and everybody stands to benefit."
Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood today said the plan will "jumpstart a new era in American train travel" and called the investment in train travel an environmental "game changer."
The money needed for the president's plans begin with an $8 billion "down payment" from the stimulus bill, to be followed, he hopes, by $1 billion per year for five years, requested in the federal budget to accelerate the program.
States will have to compete for high-speed rail funds. Most of the identified high-speed rail corridors on the map above are located on the coast. Here's a video of President Obama explaining the project.
