As gas prices go up, one of the realities is that fewer people will be able to afford individual vehicular travel. Meaning that, we should not continue to build extensive new highways because congestion will take care of itself as we near Peak Oil.
But, we will still need to travel between cities for business and personal reasons. That's why this legislation could be a good sign for inter-city rail travel. According to the article:
"The rail provision would be the first dedicated, multiyear federal financing assistance for intercity passenger rail investment by states," said Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. "It covers calendar years 2008, 2009 and 2010 and lets states issue bonds where bondholders are entitled to an annual credit towards the federal tax liability, in lieu of interest payments from bond issue."
