ANDERSON — The Indiana High Speed Rail Association, an advocate for the Midwest Regional Rail System, announced Sunday it is in agreement with state Rep. Terri Austin of Anderson, who on Friday expressed her disappointment with federal funding going toward a northern Indiana rail project.
Austin, who represents parts of Madison and Hamilton counties, said she hoped the money would refocus Hoosiers on a rail system in central Indiana that eventually could reach Madison County.
The Indiana High Speed Rail Association has been advocating since 1994 for a central Indiana passenger rail line that extends from Chicago to the Gary/Chicago International Airport, Lafayette and Indianapolis with branches to Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky.
The group’s leader, Dennis Hodges, said in a release that the route would be more profitable than all the proposed high-speed rail lines in the Midwest.
“Compared to a two dollar return on every dollar spent for operating other routes in the Midwest System, the Central Indiana alignment was projected to see a $2.64 return,” Hodges wrote in the release.
The association now looks to work with the Indiana Department of Transportation and Austin to determine how central Indiana can be included in a future application for high-speed rail funding.
“Some of the largest Midwest economies are on this route, and they should not be ignored,” Hodges wrote. “If a traveler had a choice, would they not prefer a two-hour train ride from Indianapolis to Chicago over a three-hour drive or plane ride?”
On March 11-12, the Indiana High Speed Rail Association will host the 11th annual Golden Spike Seminar: In Support of the Midwest Regional Rail System at Valparaiso University.
—The Herald Bulletin
