Transportation for America lauds new passenger rail grants

$2.4 billion in new grants

Jon Boyd, Nov 01, 10.

Transportation for America co-chair lauded recent grants for passenger rail:

John Robert Smith, co-chair of Transportation for America and former mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, released the following statement in praise of the Obama administration’s $2.4 billion in grants for high-speed and inter-city passenger rail corridors in the United States:

“A national high-speed rail system is not only an opportunity to redefine how we travel and how our regional economies grow – it represents the type of innovation and progress that can guarantee another century of growth and prosperity in America. It gives people a choice in how they travel, something polls have shown Americans want. The diversity of grant recipients shows that communities both large and small will benefit from investments in high-speed and inter-city passenger rail. For example, the States of Iowa and Illinois received $230 million in grants for a new passenger rail connection between Iowa City and Chicago, which will help to revitalize a number of smaller cities along the route.

“This $2.4 billion investment, on top of the $8 billion awarded from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is a worthy start, but it is crucial that the Obama administration work with Congress on a comprehensive and transformational reauthorization of America’s surface transportation law. A new bill that increases travel options, holds agencies accountable for how they spend our transportation dollars and repairs and maintains our nation’s infrastructure will help rebuild our economy and ensure more communities can pursue innovative transportation solutions in the decades ahead. A strong and safe network of rail, roads, bridges and public transportation systems in this country is an area ripe for common ground. We must move forward together, regardless of what happens next Tuesday.”

(Photo credit: Gavin Anderson)