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Living in northeast Indiana definitely has its advantages. We are within a few hours driving distance of several big cities, a feature most communities across the country can’t boast about.
One of those big cities that is my favorite across the Midwest is Chicago, as I love to visit a couple of times each year.
Most of the time, I make the 192-mile trip in car, but every now and then we drive to Michigan City and take the South Shore Line to Millennium Station.
I much prefer taking the train to Chicago to avoid driving, parking and wasting time in traffic. The public transportation in the Windy City is so developed that you can get anywhere on a bus or metro for just a couple of bucks.
Since we are so far away from Michigan City, however, it’s often more of an inconvenience to use the train than it is to drive.
But the hope here is that within the next 10 years high-speed rail service will come to Indiana and Fort Wayne.
In June, passenger-train officials from across the entire Midwest met in Fort Wayne to discuss what our area needs to do to secure some of the $8 billion President Obama and the federal government have earmarked for rail systems. President Obama wants to strengthen our country’s public transportation system — a vision we ardently support. Europe and Asia have used high-speed rails for quite some time, but the United States is far behind in using this more energy-efficient method that relies much less on oil.
Plans released from the federal government in June show that California and the Midwest appear to be the front-runners to capture the $8 billion in stimulus money. Eight states across the Midwest are working to promote a network that would make Chicago the hub. The initial plan indicates the network would join 12 metropolitan areas within 400 miles and include the line that runs from Chicago through Indianapolis, with a stop in Lafayette, the Associated Press has reported.
But it’s still possible that Fort Wayne could be a hub.
“If you want service in Fort Wayne, you have to make it clear to the governor and legislators today,” Rick Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, told the Associated Press last month.
Clearly, high-speed rail to Indiana is quite some time away, but we need to prepare now to bring this much-needed feature to Indiana and the Midwest. It took years for our nation to develop its interstate highways, and it will likely take as long to put a high-speed rail system into place. The benefits, however, are worth the wait because we do need to develop a better public transportation system in the United States.
High-speed rail in Indiana will create more jobs and it will promote a cleaner environment because trains are more energy independent and use less oil. Plus, it will allow us to get to other cities much faster without having to drive or fly.
But like so many other things, a lot of what happens depends on how vocal we are willing to be to promote a high-speed rail system. Supporters are calling on Hoosiers to let the governor and legislators know that we want high-speed passenger trains to pass through Fort Wayne. Public support for such a project will make or break the deal.
President Obama is on the right track in his efforts to bring high-speed rail to our country. It’s time for us to jump on board and publicly support this initiative to make sure Indiana and Fort Wayne don’t miss out on a plan that could make getting to Chicago and other metropolitan areas a little easier — and a lot greener — for all of us.
by JUSTIN PEEPER
jdpeeper2@hotmail.com
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