High-speed rail advocates are betting support for proposed projects through red-leaning districts will be the key to unlocking greater support from skeptical Republicans in Congress.
For the bet to pay off, lawmakers would have to supply the funds to reverse decades-long failure to complete a passenger rail line capable of reaching 200 miles per hour.
Republicans have consistently labeled these ventures as wasteful, most notably the California High Speed Rail project, which has become symbolic of the partisan funding fights that plague these enterprises. Although planning dates back to the early 2000s, the California project still faces major funding gaps and delays measured in decades, according to the group overseeing the project, the California High-Speed Rail Peer Review Group.
