The Illinois Department of Transportation has reached a cooperative agreement with Union Pacific and Amtrak that will permit the release of a $1.1 billion federal high-speed rail grant to the state of Illinois to fund passenger rail improvements between Chicago and St. Louis. The agreement was proclaimed by state and federal officials as “historic” and hailed as “one giant step closer to achieving high-speed passenger service between Chicago and St. Louis.” But stripped of its rhetoric, the announcement only reveals how inadequate and cost-ineffective the Administration’s “high–speed” program is turning out to be.
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Tags: Amtrak, ARRA, C. Kenneth Orski, Chicago, HSR, IL, Illinois, Illinois Department of Transportation, Innovation Newsbriefs, Ken Orski, St. Louis, Union Pacific
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