During a visit with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to Philadelphia’s #0th Street Station, Vice President Joe Biden announced a comprehensive plan aimed at giving a majority of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years.
“As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced,” Biden said. “This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”
The proposal presented by Biden and LaHood is a six-year plan that includes a $53 billion investment towards the construction of a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network.
“In America, we pride ourselves on dreaming big and building big,” Secretary LaHood said. “This historic investment in America’s high-speed rail network keeps us on track toward economic opportunity and competitiveness in the 21st century.”