Obama's Rail Plan: A Drop in the Bucket

On Thursday, President Obama and Vice President Biden announced the recipients of almost $8 billion in stimulus grants that are designed to begin development of high-speed rail (HSR) networks. The money will go to 13 "travel corridors," and will include lines in Oregon-Washington-Canada, California, Wisconsin-to-Chicago, Iowa, Detroit-to-Chicago, St. Louis-to-Kansas City, St. Louis-to-Chicago, Cleveland-to-Cincinnati, Texas, Tampa-to-Orlando, Charlotte-to-Washington, and the Northeast Corridor.