Under the direction of President Biden, the Federal Railroad Administration recently released a new “Midwest Regional Rail Plan” that should be classified under “science fiction” rather than a government report.
This “ambitious” 40-year plan envisions a “coordinated rail network” with Chicago as the hub for this high-speed train that would run, wait for it: 24 daily trips between Chicago and Minneapolis!
There is currently one daily train – the Empire Builder. A second planned train is expected “to carry about 124,000 passengers between St. Paul and Chicago annually and would make the 411-mile trip in seven and a half hours. It would travel at a top speed of 79 mph” according to a report in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
So, here’s your math word problem of the day:
- Joe wants to take the AMTRAK train from St. Paul to Chicago. The roundtrip ticket costs $140.46 and the 411-mile (one-way) trip will take seven and one-half hours.
- Bill wants to fly on United Airlines from Minneapolis to Chicago. The roundtrip ticket costs $96.81 and there are 22-non-stop daily flights out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport. It takes 1 hour and 32 minutes to fly to Chicago.
Which travel method is better and which one do you think that our state and federal government are investing your taxpayer dollars in?
