A Pennsylvania public interest group today urged the federal government to set a goal of connecting every major city in the U.S. with a network of high-speed passenger trains by mid-century.

A report released today by the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group chronicles decades of neglect of the nation's passenger rail system while the federal government poured billions of dollars into interstate highways and air transportation.

It endorsed President Barack Obama's allocation of $8 billion in stimulus funds for high-speed rail, noting that the demand for funding produced $57 billion in requests from states. Even if all $57 billion had been funded, that would represent only a "down payment" on developing a system that could rival those in Europe and Asia, the group said.

Passenger rail development would reduce highway congestion, cut the nation's dependence on foreign oil and create an estimated 1.6 million construction jobs, giving "a needed shot in the arm for America's struggling manufacturing sector," the group said.

It noted that modest improvements already made to rail lines have produced large dividends. Amtrak's share of travelers going from New York to Boston grew from 18 percent to 47 percent after its introduction of near high-speed Acela service in the corridor. Improvements to service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia resulted in a tripling of ridership. Overall Amtrak ridership grew by 26 percent in the last decade.

Catherine Ngo, a spokeswoman for PennPIRG, said the report underscores the enthusiasm among states and travelers for high-speed rail. She said the volume of funding requests along with the increased ridership on Amtrak answers critics who say trains won't attract enough passengers to be viable.

Pennsylvania got very little of the $8 billion in grants that were awarded by the Obama administration last month. The only money flowing to Western Pennsylvania was $750,000 for a study into improving service between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.

An ambitious proposal to build a magnetic levitation train serving Pittsburgh International Airport, Downtown Pittsburgh and Greensburg got nothing.

Today's report made no mention of maglev but Ms. Ngo said that wasn't a commentary on the proposal. "Maglev is certainly a very exciting project," she said.

The group's report, "The Right Track -- Building a 21st Century High-Speed Rail System for America," can be viewed at its website, pennpirg.org.

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