To the Midwest

Since we have extended our imaginary High Speed Rail system across Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh and across New York State and across the international border to Toronto, Ontario it is time to connect the US's third largest city, Chicago, to our high speed rail network.

Since Pittsburgh is the western terminus of our rail lines in the United States it might seem logical to connect to Chicago through the steel city, but I think the high speed rail system - and American workers - would be better served by a line connecting Chicago to Windsor, Ontario via Gary and South Bend, Indiana and Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan.



The train would traverse the route covered by Amtrak's Wolverine service and passenger trains of past ages like the International and has the potential to foster greater economic cooperation and trade between the Canadian core and the American midwest and rustbelt regions.



Why take this route? For a variety of reasons. For one, eastern Michigan desperately needs economic development and extending high speed rail there could stimulate some modern manufacturing and financial business in the region. For another, Canadian rail operator VIARail will be building high speed rail from Windsor, Ontario through Toronto to Montreal, Quebec, linking the Chicago-Windsor line to the New York City - Toronto line, making throughn transit possible between New York and Chicago and opening up the midwest region to the east-coast and Canadian rail traveling culture