Durbin, Illinois Delegation: High Speed Rail Funding Will Have Greatest Impact in Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – In a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and the entire Illinois Congressional Delegation made the case that the federal funding available for high speed rail would have the greatest impact on Illinois.
The Illinois Members wrote: Illinois has spearheaded a regional effort in the Midwest to build an integrated high speed rail network. These Midwest states have already completed careful planning and made significant investments to modernize our existing passenger rail system. The Midwest rail system, with Chicago as its hub, could provide 3,000 miles of high speed rail service and serve 90 percent of the 60.3 million people living in its nine-state region. A significant federal investment into this region could create a rail system that could carry nearly as much traffic as regional air service.
Members signing on to today’s letter include: Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) and Representatives Melissa Bean (D-IL), Judy Biggert (R-IL), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Danny Davis (D-IL), Bill Foster (D-IL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Debbie Halvorson (D-IL), Phil Hare (D-IL), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Tim Johnson (R-IL), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Don Manzullo (R-IL), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Aaron Schock (R-IL) and John Shimkus (R-IL).
[text of the letter below]
December 18, 2009
The Honorable Ray LaHood
Secretary
Department of Transportation
Dear Secretary LaHood:
Thank you for your leadership on high speed rail. With the recent passage of the FY 10 Omnibus appropriations bill, your Department is now in charge of $10.5 billion in funding slated for high speed passenger rail – the largest appropriation for high speed rail in U.S. history. This funding has the potential to fundamentally reshape our national transportation system.
We believe high speed rail funding will have the greatest impact in Illinois, home to the nation’s largest rail system. As you consider states’ applications for funding, we encourage you to make a significant investment in Illinois during the first round of high speed rail awards. We recognize there is a strong demand for new and expanded service for intercity high speed passenger rail throughout the country, but we believe the rail corridors in Illinois provide the best opportunity to develop a regionally integrated, nationally significant high speed rail system.
Illinois has spearheaded a regional effort in the Midwest to build an integrated high speed rail network. These Midwest states have already completed careful planning and made significant investments to modernize our existing passenger rail system. The Midwest rail system, with Chicago as its hub, could provide 3,000 miles of high speed rail service and serve 90 percent of the 60.3 million people living in its nine-state region. A significant federal investment into this region could create a rail system that could carry nearly as much traffic as regional air service.
The core of the Midwest system lies in Illinois, with the Chicago to St. Louis route as the high-speed backbone of the network. New regional routes to the Quad Cities and Rockford will feed into the high speed routes originating in Chicago and terminating in Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis and Madison/Minneapolis.
The Midwest also offers an opportunity for the federal government to provide both short-term economic stimulus and a sustained source of economic growth in the region. Federal Railroad Administration studies show the highest level of economic benefit associated with rail investment anywhere in the U.S. outside of the Northeast Corridor is in the Midwest. A study completed by the Midwest states reinforced the Administration’s findings, showing $1.70 return on every dollar invested in Midwest High Speed Rail.
We believe Illinois offers the greatest opportunity for your Department to enhance mobility, reduce reliance on foreign oil, lessen congestion and provide steady employment in a region hard hit by job loss.
Thank you for your consideration of our request. We stand ready to assist you in further developing a world-class intercity passenger rail system.
Sincerely,