Gov. Nixon Shares Ideas About High Speed Rail at Roundtable With Vice President Biden, Other Governors

Press Release

Gov. Nixon Shares Ideas About High Speed Rail at Roundtable With Vice President Biden, Other Governors

Gov. Jay Nixon shared his ideas about developing high speed passenger rail service at a roundtable today in Washington, D.C., with Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and the Governors of several other states. The Governor said he wants Missouri to be at the forefront of high speed rail projects that could be funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). A portion of ARRA specifically mandates funding for improving and deploying high speed rail systems in the United States.

Earlier this spring, Gov. Nixon and the Governors of seven other Midwestern states sent a letter to Secretary LaHood asking him to support plans that have been in place for several years for key rail corridors between cities in their states, including the corridor between St. Louis and Chicago.

"Missouri and our partner states in the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission already have a competitive advantage because we have been working on this rail initiative for more than a decade," Gov. Nixon said. "I reiterated our strong position to Vice President Biden today while we discussed the viability of high speed rail corridors. The Vice President and Secretary LaHood know Missouri and our partner states will aggressively compete for the Recovery Act funding designated for high speed rail."

The Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MIPRC), first conceived by Missouri and eight other states in the mid-1990s, has done the needed studies and preliminary work for projects that would provide increased mobility for travelers and promote regional and economic development goals.

Gov. Nixon noted that Illinois already has completed an environmental impact statement for the Chicago-St. Louis corridor. After initial phase projects would be completed, the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative calls for developing service along other routes, including St. Louis to Kansas City.

The Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission brings together state leaders from across the region to advocate for passenger rail improvements. Formed by compact agreement in 2000, the MIPRC's current members are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

In addition to Gov. Nixon, the other Governors meeting with Vice President Biden and Secretary LaHood today included Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, Pat Quinn of Illinois and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.

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