President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced this week that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is awarding $8 billion to states across the country to develop America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service.

According to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), the state received a $71.4 million grant for High-Speed Rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Midwest received $2.6 billion of the $8 billion distributed nationwide under this program.

The endeavor is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and those dollars represent a historic investment in the country’s transportation infrastructure, which will help create jobs and transform travel in America, according to a release from the White House. The announcement is one of a number of job initiatives the President will lay out in the coming weeks that follow up on the continued commitment to job creation he discussed in this week’s State of the Union Address.

“Through the Recovery Act, we are making the largest investment in infrastructure since the Interstate Highway System was created, putting Americans to work rebuilding our roads, bridges, and waterways for the future,” President Obama said. “That investment is how we can break ground across the country, putting people to work building high-speed rail lines, because there’s no reason why Europe or China should have the fastest trains when we can build them right here in America.”

By investing in high speed rail, the government is doing many good things for our country at the same time, according to Vice President Biden.

“We’re creating good construction and manufacturing jobs in the near-term; we’re spurring economic development in the future; we’re making our communities more livable, and we’re doing it all while decreasing America’s environmental impact and increasing America’s ability to compete in the world.”

This week’s awards will serve as a down-payment on developing or laying the groundwork for 13 new, large-scale high-speed rail corridors across the country. The major corridors are part of a total of 31 states receiving investments, including smaller projects and planning work that will help lay the groundwork for future high-speed intercity rail service. The grants are not only expected to have an up-front job and economic impact, but help spur economic growth in communities across the country, provide faster and more energy-efficient means of travel, and potentially establish a new industry in the U.S. that provides stable, well-paid jobs.

The historic $8 billion investment is expected to create or save tens of thousands of jobs over time in areas like track-laying, manufacturing, planning and engineering, and rail maintenance and operations, according to the White House. More than 30 rail manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, have agreed to establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they are hired to build America’s next generation high-speed rail lines – a commitment the Administration secured to help ensure new jobs are created here at home.

“The President’s bold vision for high-speed rail is a game changer,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “It’s not only going to create good jobs and reinvigorate our manufacturing base, it’s also going to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and help create livable communities. I have no doubt that building the next generation of rail service in this country will help change our society for the better.”

The majority of the dollars announced this week will go toward developing new, large-scale high-speed rail programs. This includes projects in Florida, which is receiving up to $1.25 billion to develop a new high-speed rail corridor between Tampa and Orlando with trains running up to 168 miles per hour, and in California, which is receiving up to $2.25 billion for its planned project to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and points in between with trains running up to 220 miles per hour.

In April 2009, the Administration released a long-term plan for high speed rail in America. In addition to the $8 billion awarded today, the plan also included $1 billion a year for five years in the federal budget as a down payment to jump-start the program. Applicants submitted over $55 billion in project proposals for the initial $8 billion in funds awarded today.

Obama Administration officials are traveling across the country this week to announce funding for the high speed rail projects and discuss how this investment will create local jobs and rebuild the economy. Thursday, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will travel to Durham, North Carolina, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis will visit Columbus, Ohio and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will be in Milwaukee, Wisc., Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will hold an event in Washington, DC, Executive Director of the White House Council on Auto Communities and Workers Ed Montgomery will visit St. Louis, Missouri and Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On Friday, a senior Department of Transportation official will travel to California and FRA Administrator Szabo will hold an event in Chicago, Illinois.

“Today's high speed rail grants lay the foundation for world-class train travel in the Midwest by funding projects that had been delayed for decades,” Rick Harnish, executive director of Midwest High Speed Rail Association, explained. “With more than a quarter of all Recovery Act funds coming to our region, the Midwest will see dramatic improvements in train service quickly. This includes addressing parts of the Chicago rail bottleneck, which will benefit not only Chicagoland but the whole Midwest by making rail service more reliable and efficient, for both passengers and freight. This is due in no small part to the leadership of the region's governors, who worked together to advance the future of our interconnected states. (But) these grants are only the first step. We are calling upon Congress to maintain the momentum by appropriating $4 billion in the next budget cycle so that we can reach the ultimate goal of world-class 220-mph bullet trains connecting the Midwest.”