Federal stimulus money will be the financial engine driving about $2.6 billion of high-speed rail work in the Upper Midwest during 2010.
The federal government announced in late January that it would award $8 billion nationwide this year to projects that help grow high-speed railroad systems, and routes in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa are on track to get a total of $2.62 billion—about 33%—of the overall pot.