All aboard! Vice President Joe Biden says the government will pour $53 billion into expanding the nation’s high-speed rail network over the next six years, including $8 billion in 2012 alone. It’s part of President Obama’s pledge to bring rail to 80 percent of Americans within a quarter century and to bring the U.S. rail system up to speed with trains in China, Japan, and elsewhere. Biden, whose fondness for Amtrak during his time in the Senate became legendary, made the announcement in Philadelphia. The Department of Transportation will identify the locations for new lines.
