Fast train funding will help Kalamazoo’s economic development position

Fast trains for Kalamazoo are something the Executive Director of Economic Development Corporation for the City of Kalamazoo Jerome Kisscorni is very enthused about.

After U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s announcement of $196.5 million grant to rehabilitate track and signal systems so trains can travel up to speeds of 110 mph on a 235-mile section of the Chicago to Detroit corridor Kisscomi’s reaction was all positive.

“This is a wonderful opportunity,” Kisscomi says. “This gives us another tool to attract and retain people and business to the community. This is a real positive. As gas prices go up, people are going to want to live in communities with mass transit and easy access to the places they need to travel to.”

Michigan is one of 15 states to receive federal funding as part of $2 billion to be invested in high speed trains for the Northeast Corridor, to expand service in the Midwest, and provide new, state-of-the-art locomotives and rail cars. Amtrak also is receiving a portion of the funding. Of that funding, $404.1 million will go to expand high-speed rail service in the Midwest.  

All together, the monies will fund 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects as part of a nationwide network that is expected to connect 80 percent of Americans to high-speed rail in 25 years.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Jerome Kisscorni, City of Kalamazoo