St. Louis to Chicago high-speed rail line is on track
New rail line will cost $1.1 billion.
The federal government is spending $1.1 billion to build high-speed rail between Chicago and St. Louis. However, supporters are calling for "true" high-speed rail that runs more than 150 mph -- not the 110-mph service currently programmed.
Meanwhile, residents of Des Moines, Iowa, are hosting a rally for federal funding to move the state's planned high-speed rail corridor into the construction phase.
High-speed rail is on its way to St. Louis, and the government is spending $1.1 billion to get the job done.
The funds are coming from stimulus money, and will build high-speed rail between St. Louis and Chicago.
But the term “high-speed” can be misleading because while the improvements made will allow trains to go about 100 miles an hour, that’s far less than the 200 miles an hour of other high-speed trains. Currently, trains go about 80 miles an hour.
Some are asking if this is a waste of stimulus money, but some transportation experts say it’s not. One local expert says instead of improving the current infrastructure, building a truly high-speed rail might be a better way to spend stimulus dollars.
Experts say the current plan would only save travelers about an hour in time because there would still be multiple stops along the way.
Source: KMOV-TV
