Action Alert! Call-in day for Michigan Rail

Call-in Day for Michigan Rail - Tuesday, Nov. 30!  

Please call Senator Bishop TODAY, Tuesday, November 30, and ask him to make HB 6484 a top lame-duck priority.

A train from Chicago to Detroit in less than four hours? It could be coming, if the Michigan Senate votes for HB 6484!  The Department of Transportation has pledged at least $160 million to Michigan to buy and improve railroad track connecting Detroit-Ann Arbor-Jackson-Kalamazoo. That is IF the state provides the required 20% local matching funds.

HB 6484 provides that match by allowing state bonds to be used for rail improvement.  The new rail bonding authority can also provide critical funds for other local projects such as Woodward Light Rail in Detroit, the Detroit-Ann Arbor Commuter Rail, WALLY (Livingston County) and other pending projects.  

This bill has received strong bi-partisan support so far and was co-sponsored by five Republicans and five Democrats in the House. The House voted for it, the Governor supports it. Now the Senate must pass it - before they go home on December 2!  

Ohio and Wisconsin are on the verge of giving back $1.2 billion of federal money for high-speed rail projects. New York, Illinois, Georgia and California are among the many states clamoring for this money. With our struggling economy, we can’t afford to give hundreds of millions of dollars away.

This money will not only improve our public transportation, but will also bring thousands of desperately needed, good-paying jobs to Michigan. Rail companies such as Amtrak and CSX are hiring hundreds of workers in other states constructing rail lines and manufacturing train parts.  

Successful funding and completion of these projects means trains hitting 110 mph on more than 200 miles of track along southern  Michigan’s corridor. This is a game-changing opportunity for our state.  Republicans and Democrats, labor, local governments, chambers of  commerce, and environmental groups are now on the same page;

On Tuesday, call Senator Bishop at 517-373-2417 and ask him to please pass the rail bonding bill!  

Also call your state senator to urge their support, especially:  

* Senator Randy Richardville at 517-373-3543 (Monroe County, Saline, Pittsfield, Manchester, or Milan)  

* Senator John Pappageorge at 517-373-2523 (Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson, Madison Heights, Royal Oak, or Troy)  

Thanks for your support. Let’s get Michigan moving again!!!