Illinois General Assembly takes up creation of High Speed Rail Authority
Written by jrood
A key Illinois General Assembly committee votes on SB2571 Feb. 23, which would create the Illinois High Speed Rail Authority. The Authority would be charged with designing, financing, building and operating a high speed rail network on speeds up to 220 mph using new infrastructure. Responsibility for upgrades to 110 mph would remain the responsibility of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
"Just two U.S. states, Florida and California, have
active 220-mph high speed rail plans, while the rest of the world already has
embraced the technology," said Illinois Senator Martin Sandoval (D-Cicero),
chair of the transportation committee and the bill’s author. "By establishing
this Authority, Illinois would become only the third U.S. state to take a giant
step toward fast and clean transportation, which doubles as a major job
creator."
