Not so fast: High Speed Rail future not so certain

From NPR’s “All Things Considered”

High-speed rail may be among the casualties of last week’s midterm elections.

The governors-elect of Wisconsin and Ohio say they will reject hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding intended to start up new high-speed passenger rail service in their states, even though the projects require their states to pay nothing upfront. Florida’s governor-elect may do the same.

The moves to oppose the Obama administration’s efforts to get high-speed trains whisking through some parts of the country appear to be the first of many fights between Democrats and newly elected Republicans who campaigned on promises to rein in spending.

And even states such as Illinois that want high-speed rail and tout its benefits could face a day of reckoning with the changing of the guard on Capitol Hill.