In a guest column on DesMoinesRegister.com, Howard Lerner, Executive Director of the Environment Law & Policy Center, gave some ideas on how Midwest high-speed rail can succeed. Here are some of Mr. Lerner’s arguments on why he thinks high-speed rail is moving toward reality:

• On July 27, eight Midwest governors signed a memorandum of understanding, committing to combine regional and state planning and development work, prioritize corridor build-outs and coordinate applications for federal funding.
• There is a new bipartisan Midwest Congressional High-Speed Rail Caucus.
• High-speed rail will “will improve mobility with a new, fast, comfortable and convenient transportation option.”
• It will create jobs and spur economic growth by pulling together the regional economy.
• It will protect our environment through less pollution, reducing congestion and counteracting sprawl by pulling jobs, people and businesses downtown into our central cities.
• There is broad national support for high-speed rail development. Forty states have proposed 278 projects seeking $102 billion in federal funding. In addition to the $8 billion in federal economic-stimulus funding, the House has now appropriated $4 billion more for fiscal year 2010 and has proposed $50 billion in the federal transportation reauthorization legislation.

While some of these reasons may be arguable, high-speed rail is moving forward with serious funding announced by President Obama (see “President Obama Unveils High-Speed Passenger Rail Plan for Ten Corridors.”) Among the factors Mr. Lerner believe will help push Midwest high-speed rail projects forward are the following:

• Citizens need to speak with “one voice” for “one region.” While he writes mostly about Midwest states, this simple yet often-forget and important point is the required beginning of any successful project.
• Do not let perfection stand in the way of progress. We tend to look for the best solutions, but a better way is to practice due diligence and move on to the goals. Inaction equals waste and hinders development and advancement.
• Always look at the big picture. The high-speed rail projects are not only about trains. They are about mobility, job creation, economic development, growth, vitalization, and competitiveness, in addition to habitable communities, lower pollution and cleaner environment.

We can take these 3 important points and apply to anything in life and expect a good chance for success. Great advice..

See the original article: “Let’s help high-speed rail gain momentum.”

How High-Speed Rail Can Gain Momentum in the Midwest is a post from: CleanCarTalk

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President Obama today announced a national network of high-speed passenger rail lines with funding revolving around the $8 billion in the Recovery Act plus $1 billion per year for the next five years.

The investment provides a much needed kick-start to modernize the aging U.S. passenger rail system into high-speed “bullet” trains, able to transport people over long distances efficiently, reliably and comfortably in addition to helping to take drivers off the road and reducing pollution in populated areas.

Currently the nation’s only high-speed rail service exists in the Northeast corridor (NEC) from Washington to Boston. The ten high-speed corridors identified to be potential recipients of this new federal funding include lines in California, Pacific Northwest, South Central, Gulf Coast, Chicago Hub Network, Florida, Southeast, Keystone, Empire and Northern New England. Under the plan the NEC will have an opportunity to compete for funds to further improve services to riders in its busy area. Below is the map showing the high-speed rail lines being considered, courtesy www.whitehouse.gov.

What we’re talking about is a vision for high-speed rail in America.  Imagine boarding a train in the center of a city.  No racing to an airport and across a terminal, no delays, no sitting on the tarmac, no lost luggage, no taking off your shoes.  (Laughter.)  Imagine whisking through towns at speeds over 100 miles an hour, walking only a few steps to public transportation, and ending up just blocks from your destination.  Imagine what a great project that would be to rebuild America.

Now, all of you know this is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future.  It is now.  It is happening right now.  It’s been happening for decades.  The problem is it’s been happening elsewhere, not here.

In France, high-speed rail has pulled regions from isolation, ignited growth, remade quiet towns into thriving tourist destinations.  In Spain, a high-speed line between Madrid and Seville is so successful that more people travel between those cities by rail than by car and airplane combined.  China, where service began just two years ago, may have more miles of high-speed rail service than any other country just five years from now.  And Japan, the nation that unveiled the first high-speed rail system, is already at work building the next:  a line that will connect Tokyo with Osaka at speeds of over 300 miles per hour.  So it’s being done; it’s just not being done here.

There’s no reason why we can’t do this.  This is America.  There’s no reason why the future of travel should lie somewhere else beyond our borders.  Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system –- and everybody stands to benefit.

Among other dignitaries attending this momentous event are Vice President Joe Biden and Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Transportation and Infrastructure Chair James Oberstar along with other members of Congress. Public transportation leaders in attendance included American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Chair Dr. Beverly Scott (MARTA, or Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) and APTA President William W. Millar. Vice President Biden said in his speech:

With high-speed rail system, we’re going to be able to pull people off the road, lowering our dependence on foreign oil, lowering the bill for our gas in our gas tanks.  We’re going to loosen the congestion that also has great impact on productivity, I might add, the people sitting at stop lights right now in overcrowded streets and cities.  We’re also going to deal with the suffocation that’s taking place in our major metropolitan areas as a consequence of that congestion.  And we’re going to significantly lessen the damage to our planet.  This is a giant environmental down payment.

Here’s a video clip showing portion of President Obama’s announcement, courtesy CNN, March 16, 2009.

President Obama Unveils High-Speed Passenger Rail Plan for Ten Corridors is a post from: CleanCarTalk

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• Voters Give Thumbs Up to High-Speed Rail for California

Prop 1A wins! Head over to the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) to read and view some cool content about the proposed high-speed rail system to carry passengers, linking Southern California, the Sacramento San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Proposition 1A is the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, which asks the question: “To provide Californians a safe, convenient, affordable, and reliable alternative to driving and high gas prices; to provide good-paying jobs and improve California’s economy while reducing air pollution, global warming greenhouse gases, and our dependence on foreign oil, shall $9.95 billion in bonds be issued to establish a clean, efficient high-speed train service linking Southern California, the Sacramento San Joaquin Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area, with at least 90 percent of bond funds spent for specific projects, with federal and private matching funds required, and all bond funds subject to independent audits?”

John Addison also blogged about this on the Cleantech Blog. His blog is called “Voters Approve High-Speed Rail for California” and offers a number of key points. Mr. Addison wrote, “California is moving ahead with an 800-mile high-speed train system serving Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego. High-speed trains will be capable of maximum speeds of 220 miles per hour, covering San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 hours and 40 minutes. The system is forecast to carry over 100 million passengers per year by 2030″. Voters around the country also cast their votes for rail and public transportation, not just in California.

View a 10 minute video describing the California High-Speed Rail project, courtesy of the CHSRA. (Updated 10/12/08, file size: 26MB)

Voters Give Thumbs Up to High-Speed Rail for California is a post from: CleanCarTalk

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• How High-Speed Rail Can Gain Momentum in the Midwest
• President Obama Unveils High-Speed Passenger Rail Plan for Ten Corridors