Rally for high-speed Midwest rails coming to town.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), March, 2005 | by Davis, Jon

Byline: Jon Davis Daily Herald Staff Writer These are interesting times for Amtrak advocates. More passengers rode trains in Illinois last year than in 2003, and the opportunity to run high-speed trains from Chicago to Springfield and St. Louis has never looked better. Yet, the Bush administration wants to wipe out Amtrak's annual $1.8 billion subsidy and turn inter-city passenger train service over to the states, most of which are cash-strapped.

Delivering the message that trains are as critical as planes and automobiles is just what the conductor will order Saturday when the Midwest High Speed Rail Association's annual "Regional Summit for Fast Trains" convenes in Chicago at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' hall, 600 W. Washington...