Indiana plans for high-speed
rail system
By Seiji Ohashi
Staff
Writer
The Indiana Department of Transportation remains
optimistic as progress is being made slowly but steadily for the Midwest
Regional Rail Initiative, a multi-agency effort to develop a high-speed,
passenger rail system.
This initiative includes nine states in the Midwest
- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska
and Wisconsin - in an effort to cut down on travel times between relatively
close cities without jeopardizing the safety of passengers. The initiative
will require a $4.1 billion investment, 80 percent of which will be
funded federally and 20 percent of which will be funded by the states
involved in the initiative. The department held a meeting Tuesday to
discuss the different aspects of the initiative with local citizens
and authorities.
"These meetings are the first step to improvement
in rail travel throughout the U.S.," said Stan Smith of Blalock
& Brown, the infrastructure consultants for the department.
The initiative intends to utilize and update rail
lines already in place instead of laying new track for all 3,000 miles
of this proposed network. It will allow trains to travel at speeds up
to 110 mph. Other positive aspects of this initiative are that it will
provide extra employment and revenues for cities included in the network.
Other states such as Michigan and Illinois have
already started construction for the project while Indiana has just
passed the planning stage. During the meeting, the department discussed
some of the problems it faced in progressing with the initiative.
Some of the citizens at the meeting asked about
freight line cooperation with the initiative due to the fact that most
delays on passenger rail systems are due to the wait caused by freight
trains passing by. Members of the department responded that freight
line corporations are always looking out for their own businesses. Since
there is a huge investment on the rails that are going to be made, the
initiative is a viable option for the freight line corporations as well.
The lack of state and federal government involvement
was also brought up by many people. Department representatives said
they agreed with concerned citizens that the government, both state
and federal, needs to put more input in the initiative. They urged anyone
interested in the initiative to voice their opinions to their congressmen.
Despite some of the problems the department faces,
it stands strong in believing that it needs to remain organized and
make progress at all times, even if the project may be behind other
states.
"We need to make sure when the federal money
starts to flow that we’re ready to spend it," said Tom Beck,
rail planner for the department.
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