Results tagged “highspeedrail”

During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, much was made of Joe Biden's scrappy devotion to his blue-collar roots. A sudden widower and bereaved parent within weeks of his 1972 Senate win, his ensuing six terms—thirty-six years—were divided between the halls of Washington and caring for his two surviving sons in Delaware, riding Amtrak for ninety minutes in either direction to balance the demands of both. So when the White House announced its "vision for a new era in rail" on April 16, jointly declared by Biden, President Obama, and U.S Secretary of Transportation Raymond LaHood, the vice president anecdotally chimed in to underscore the strategy's importance. "Everyone knows railways are the best way to connect communities to each other," he said, "and as a daily rail commuter for over thirty-five years, this announcement is near and dear to my heart."