Private investor proposes $2B high-speed rail line to connect Grand Rapids and Detroit

Some state lawmakers and business leaders are investigating the feasibility of a proposed high-speed rail line between Grand Rapids and Detroit as a possible economic development tool. The idea has its opponents who say development of local transit is more apt to benefit communities economically.

According to excerpts from the story:

The public gets a chance next week to comment on a plan to build a futuristic high-speed rail system along Michigan's interstates, allowing people and cars to travel from Grand Rapids to Detroit in less than an hour. The Michigan-meets-"The Jetsons" concept is being studied by a bipartisan state panel holding meetings around the state in an attempt to gauge public support.

"To somebody born in 1900, they didn't know they'd watch a man land on the moon, but we believe that (a rail system) does have possibilities and certainly is worthwhile to us to continue to investigate them," said state Rep. Mike Huckleberry, D-Greenville. "We're in such economic shape that no stone should be left unturned."

Read the complete story here.




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