The lines on the developing U.S. high-speed-rail map have been barely penciled in, and now, after the Nov. 2 elections, at least two lines probably will have to be erased. Republican governors-elect in Wisconsin and Ohio vow to halt work on rail projects in their states, even though they won U.S Dept. of Transportation funds. Florida’s incoming GOP governor has promised to kill a proposed Orlando-Tampa line if state funding is required.
Despite those developments, rail plans are rolling ahead in more than two dozen other states, thanks partly to infusions of federal aid. Some of those states are hungry for any federal rail money that Wisconsin, Ohio or Florida may return.