During his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced a goal to make high speed rail transportation available to 80 percent of the country over the next 25 years. And now we know just how he’ll do it: with billions of dollars.
Vice President Biden has announced that over the next six years, a total of $53 billion will be invested in high speed rail infrastructure, starting with $8 billion over the next fiscal year, which will be used to get the nation’s current system up to speed.
“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 the announcement. “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.”
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