White House announces $53 billion high-speed rail plan

The White House announced a plan Tuesday to spend $53 billion over six years on expanding high-speed rail with $8 billion planned for the fiscal 2012 budget expected for release Feb. 14. 

Vice President Joseph Biden said the funding is part of a long-term plan to provide 80 percent of the U.S. population with access to high-speed rail within 25 years, as outlined in President Obama's State of the Union address and "will lay a new foundation for the nation’s economic opportunity, job creation and competitiveness."

The Obama administration has already committed $10.5 billion a national high-speed rail system, including $8 billion in the 2009 economic stimulus and $2.5 billion in the fiscal 2010 budget. 

"As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure,” Biden said in Philadelphia during the announcement with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”

The plan also clarifies the long-term federal role in passenger rail that will provide states and cities with more certainty to make long-term transportation plans for their communities.  

""This historic investment in America’s high-speed rail network keeps us on track toward economic opportunity and competitiveness in the 21st century," LaHood said. "It’s an investment in tomorrow that will create manufacturing, construction and operations jobs today."

The proposal announced also streamlines Transportation’s rail programs, making it easier for states, cities and private companies to apply for grants and loans. For the first time, all high-speed and intercity passenger rail programs will be consolidated into two new accounts: a $4 billion account for network development, focused on building new infrastructure, stations and equipment; and a $4 billion account for system preservation and renewal, which will maintain state of good repair on Amtrak and other publicly owned assets, bring stations into Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and provide temporary operating support to state corridors while the full system is being built and developed. 

These investments will focus on developing or improving three types of interconnected corridors:

• Core Express: These corridors will form the backbone of the national high-speed rail system, with electrified trains traveling on dedicated tracks at speeds of 125-250 mph or higher.

• Regional: Corridors with train speeds of 90-125 mph will see increases in trips and reductions in travel times, laying the foundation for future high-speed service.

• Emerging: Trains traveling at up to 90 mph will provide travelers in emerging rail corridors with access to the larger national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network.