The High Speed Rail Alliance ( HSRA ) (until late 2019, named the Midwest High Speed Rail Association ( MHSRA )) was founded in 1993 and is based in Chicago , Illinois . The association is a non-profit, member-supported organization that primarily advocates for world-class 220-mph high-speed trains linking major cities and supports fast, frequent and dependable trains on other routes that connect with 220-mph corridors to form a modern national rail network.
5-405: The High Speed Rail Alliance's executive director, Richard Harnish , believes it is time for America to “catch up” with European and Asian countries in terms of using high-speed rail systems. The Association is an active member of fourbillion.com, a coalition of advocacy organizations that worked to secure a $ 4 billion appropriation in 2010 for high-speed rail in the U.S. The effort began after
10-518: The Chicago-St. Louis link as the first of a regional 220-mph high-speed rail network that would link Chicago , St. Louis , the Twin Cities , Milwaukee , Detroit , Indianapolis , Cincinnati , Cleveland , Columbus and Pittsburgh , putting more than 35 million people within a three-hour train ride of Chicago. In a proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, SNCF, operator of
15-523: The TGV high-speed rail network in France, estimated that a Midwestern 220-mph high-speed rail network would create 677,000 permanent jobs and 316,000 construction jobs. Automobile trips would be reduced by 4.3 billion vehicle miles each year, saving 3 million barrels of oil each year, and additionally reduce CO 2 and other pollutant emissions by 1.4 million tons in 2030. The total estimated cost for
20-887: The US House of Representatives passed a bill that included $ 4 billion for high-speed rail. The Senate cut the allocation down to $ 1.2 billion in their version. The two bills were in a conference committee. In June 2009, The High Speed Rail Alliance released a transportation engineering study of a 220-mph rail corridor in the Midwest. The 220-mph high-speed link would cut the trip from Chicago to St. Louis to 1 hour and 52 minutes and also serve O'Hare International Airport as well as key Illinois business, university and government centers in Kankakee , Champaign , Decatur , Springfield and Edwardsville . The line would cost between 12 billion and 13 billion dollars. The HSRA views
25-493: The network is $ 68.5 billion. Advocates for high-speed rail put that cost in perspective by pointing out that the Interstate Highway System cost 450 billion in 2008 dollars. The High Speed Rail Alliance has been a vocal critic of libertarian and conservative activists who view HSRA as distorting the record and facts on high-speed rail. In July 2009, it released a document responding to statements by
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