Arkansas high speed rail

In 2000, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation designated a route from Little Rock to San Antonio as the South Central High Speed Rail Corridor. Since that time, the East Texas Corridor Council has formed in an effort to protect the route through east Texas.

Arkansas sorely needs to be a player in this effort, especially since Texas has already taken steps to make high speed rail a reality there. I'll be attending an information and strategy session on the establishment of a passenger rail coalition in the Ark-La-Tex this afternoon in Marshall, Texas. Here's a map of the proposed route, which does not require the additional acquisition of land (click for larger version).