David Hoppe

David Hoppe is available
for freelance writing and editing assignments; and consulting with commercial and nonprofit cultural organizations. Resume and references available upon request.

Site managed by
Owl's Head Business Services

:: Indiana AWOL on high-speed rail

It's the Hoosier Way

By David Hoppe

Old-timers like to say that in Indiana we don't adopt new ideas until they've been tried and proven in other places. This is supposed to suggest a prudent, wait-and-see culture. But, like a lot of Hoosier bromides, it's also an aw-shucks way of defending our propensity for letting the world pass us by.

At the moment, the world that appears to be leaving Indiana behind consists of our neighboring Midwestern states - Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. These are the key players in a regional proposal that seeks federal stimulus dollars for the creation of a Midwestern high-speed rail network.

Oh, Indiana, the so-called "crossroads of America" is in the mix. But you'd hardly know it from available press coverage.

A month ago, on June 3, the Office of Vice President Joe Biden issued a press release about a roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C. that served as an opportunity for state leaders "to share their ideas with the Obama Administration about the future of high-speed trains in America."

This was a chance for state representatives to make their interest known about competing for a share of the $8 billion the federal government wants to invest in high-speed rail. That competition could be intense. California wants to build a bullet train between Sacramento and San Diego. There has also been talk of a southeastern initiative.

But President Obama has been supportive of a Midwestern network and the idea of building such a network in the economically strapped Midwest has particular appeal.

Provided, that is, all the states in the region present a united and collaborative front.

The governors of Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin attended the roundtable meeting in Washington, D.C. State transportation officials from Ohio and Iowa were also in attendance.

Guess who missed the meeting?

Indiana.

The next day, Vice President Biden called the Midwest proposal "one of the most comprehensive plans that have been put forward so far." Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "I think [the Midwest] will have as good a proposal as any that we will receive."

So far, so good. But in the ensuing weeks after the meeting, Indiana's role appears to be diminished.

The initial plan for the Midwest network showed two lines running through Indiana from the network's Chicago hub. One ran southeast through Lafayette and Indianapolis to Cincinnati. Another went to Detroit and Cleveland, with possible stops in South Bend or Ft. Wayne. As time has passed, though, an increasing amount of talk has centered on parts of the proposal that either bypass Indiana (trains from Chicago into Wisconsin and Missouri) or that could have a minimal impact (the northeastern route).

Last April, Gov. Mitch Daniels dutifully joined his neighboring governors in signing a letter supporting the Midwest rail initiative. That, however, was before the governor began positioning himself as the sweetheart of the Republican Party. Since then, the governor's only public utterance about the proposal has been dismissive: "I wouldn't want Indiana to get left holding the bag.for some system that's put in place and then began losing money."

Contrast that with a statement made by Ohio's Gov. Ted Strickland: "The fact that Ohio is largely devoid of passenger service is intolerable." Strickland went on to tell the Cleveland Plain Dealer that high-speed rail would benefit travelers, the environment, and the economy.

Meanwhile, to our west, in Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn called the federal government's commitment to high-speed rail "the opportunity of the century."

We should, of course, take the words of our neighboring leaders with a grain of salt. They are losers. Gov. Daniels never tires of pointing this out. Take, for example, his last State-of-the-State speech, where he asked: "Have you noticed the financial crises in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois?" Or his June 1 budget proposal address, where he warned: ".if we lose our sense of discipline now, in no time we'll look just like Michigan, or Illinois, or, heaven forbid, California."

Heaven forbid. One can only wonder how it is these economic basket-cases, states doing so poorly compared to us, are nevertheless able to entertain the kind of investment in the future represented by high-speed rail. Apparently they're unfamiliar with the first principle of the Hoosier Way: Never, ever, get stuck "holding the bag."

Multi-billion dollar highway projects nobody seems to know how to pay for are apparently an exception to this rule. I-69 anyone?

The process for creation of a high-speed rail network is going ahead, with or without Gov. Daniels. States must pre-apply for federal funding by July 10. Final applications are due August 24. A regional rail summit has been called in Chicago later this month. It sounds like Ohio's Gov. Strickland will be there. He says that if his state doesn't get high-speed rail, "Ohio will be like an island, isolated from a system that is going to represent the future major mode of transportation in this country."

Strickland needn't worry. Being isolated is Indiana's job.