By Ashley Halsey III

PHILADELPHIA -- The Obama administration plans to spend $53 billion on high-speed and intercity rail over the next six years.

Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made the announcement Tuesday morning during an appearance at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. The money will be used to build new high-speed rail networks and to make existing rail networks faster.

President Obama's budget for fiscal year 2012, which is to be unveiled next week includes $8 billion for the plan.The rest of the money will be allocated over five years, officials said.

 

"As a longtime Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced," Biden said.

Biden estimated that, as a longtime senator from Delaware, he made over 7,900 trips between Wilmington and Washington on Amtrak.

"As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation -- one of which is infrastructure," Biden said in a statement.

Last fall LaHood announced awards of $2.4 billion for high-speed rail projects in 23 states, including $45.4 million for Virginia to help fund studies and preliminary engineering in order to improve service between Richmond and Washington. It was the second round of awards, as the administration previously distributed $8 billion in stimulus money for high-speed rail projects. California has received the bulk of the awards -- about $3 billion total.

Read rest of story here.

Reuters contributed to this report.

“Never before have so few done so much for

so many with so little for so long that we are

beginning to think that we can do almost

anything with almost nothing.” Not Known:

but a common saying among members of the

Libertarian Party of Nevada in the 1970’s

(Likely a rip-off of Churchill)