Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:34 AM GOVERNOR CULVER VOICES OPTIMISM FOR PASSENGER RAIL DEVELOPMENT IN IOWA DES MOINES - Governor Chet Culver expressed his support for the decision by the Obama Administration to improve passenger rail service in Iowa by funding improvements for existing Amtrak service through southern Iowa and for supporting a feasibility study to initiate new passenger rail service from Chicago to Omaha. The Governor also expressed his disappointment that applications for proposed new routes from Iowa City to Chicago and Dubuque to Chicago did not receive funding while predicting that these routes, when developed, will prove to both popular with the traveling public and among the most cost-effective new passenger rail services in the nation. "I want to thank the Obama Administration for selecting Iowa to receive two high-speed passenger rail grants worth approximately $18 million. This will help to improve passenger rail service on existing Amtrak lines in southern Iowa while allowing us to study passenger rail expansion through central Iowa," the Governor said. "These represent additional steps in our efforts to expand passenger rail in Iowa, and to revitalize passenger rail services throughout the Upper Midwest." "At the same time," the Governor stated, "I am disappointed that the US DOT did not fund the Chicago to Iowa City and the Chicago to Dubuque proposals. These are sound projects that will help the people of this state, and with the work we have already done, we will be competitive for future rounds of funding. I am confident that an expanded passenger rail system is in Iowa's future, and the Culver/Judge Administration will continue to work directly with members of our congressional delegation, with Illinois officials and with the Obama Administration to get this done." ### - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/