Is "high hopes" like wishful thinking?
President Obama announced Thursday which states get part of $8 billion in high speed rail grants.
Of that money, Indiana received about $71.3 million to use for improvements in rail systems in the northwestern part of the state. While Fort Wayne is not seeing federal funding right now, supporters of a high speed rail system in the Summit City remain optimistic.
Geoff Paddock with the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association says granting money to one segment of Indiana is a first step toward making progress in the Summit City.
[. . .]
"It's somewhat akin to the interstate highway system," Paddock said. "It took ten to twenty years to build interstate highways after money became available."
But the interstate highway system gained momentum because it was helping people do what they wanted to do, which was get in their cars and go where and when they wanted to. The high-speed-rail initiative is trying to force people into doing what they have not shown any inclination of doing, which is to herd into trains and go only where the tracks go when the train is scheduled.
And what will that $71.3 million get Hoosiers? The money will "relive congestion on a railroad strecth between Porter and the Indiana/Illinois state line:
The project will reduce train delays by 11.6 minutes per 100 train miles, according to one study.
Really hurtling toward the 22nd century, huh?
