With high fuel prices and the over abundance of traffic on the highways its no wonder we are facing pollution and global warming issues let alone your own road aggression.
Trains are becoming a valuable means of transportation these days and may soon be the smartest, fastest and less painful!
I found an article on the Chicago tribune stating that Congress calls for doubling the federal funding provided to Amtrak to about 13.1 billion over five years.
A portion of this huge amount (3.4 billion) will be spent toward creating high speed passenger rail corridors and provide rail capital-improvement grants to states.
This project would span 3,000 miles across the Mid-west throughout nine states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin). The hub would be stationed right here in the city of Chicago. The article didn’t give an exact location, but my guess would be Union Station, which for those who haven’t been there, is right in the middle of downtown, a very prime location for any Chicagoan looking to hitch a ride.
The new system would feature modern, comfortable, double-deck trains with wide seats and large windows. The trains could go as fast as 110 m.p.h. and would save a considerable amount of time when traveling.
The popular ride from Chicago to St. Louis that usually takes about 51/2 hours would only take roughly 3 hours and 49 minutes.
According to U.S. Rep James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, a high-speed rail line between Chicago and the Twin Cities could be running within five years.
This line would run throughout Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Twin Cities and eventually Duluth with separate routes to Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
This new high-speed system would not only allow us to get around more quickly, but will stimulate the economy as well by providing thousands of jobs.
If the increased trend to ride trains continues, 13.6 million passengers will be taking the train by 2025 and 90 percent of Midwesterners would live within an hour ride of a high speed rail station.
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