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It was thrilling to hear that President Obama intends to boost the economy, enhance our energy security and cut pollution by investing in an efficient, 21st-century high-speed rail network. Today, the president announced the first big steps toward a network of high-speed rail corridors across the nation. The $8 billion in awards will touch 30 states in every region of the country, and are a down payment on a truly visionary transportation system. Our current system is woefully behind our competitors in the global economy. High-speed rail has been up and running in Europe and Japan for years, and their systems continue to expand. China is investing tens of billions of dollars in its rail system. Emerging economies such as Brazil, Argentina and South Africa all have major systems scheduled to come on line in the next decade.
President Obama's commitment to high-speed rail is a commitment to build the non-highway half of the transportation system. Paired with new investments in local transit, commuter rail, and local pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, it is a key part of a rebalancing of our national transportation system. Eventually, each of the major regions of the country will have high-speed rail connecting most major cities. The strategy is to invest in key corridors in a phased approach, building on successes with each phase.
Not only will these investments create tens of thousands of jobs, they will keep contributing to our economy over the long term. When trains start running in each corridor, they will be a boon to American businesses, which will benefit from more efficient mobility. And since rail is much more efficient than flying or driving, it will also help decrease our dependence on oil and help save our environment. One major study has found that high-speed rail investments can help save millions of tons of global warming pollution. Fully building a national high-speed rail system will stretch far beyond President Obama's term of office. Likewise, his vision extends beyond politics to the larger good of the country. The high-speed rail system that we begin building today has the potential to produce a future transportation network that is the best and the greenest in the world.
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“President Obama's commitment to high-speed rail is a commitment to build the non-highway half of the transportation system.”
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