Name Rick Harnish | ||
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Rick Harnish is executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, which he helped found in 1993. The Chicago-based 501(c) 3 non-profit group primarily advocates for world-class 220-mph high-speed trains linking major Midwestern cities. As well as supports fast, frequent and dependable trains on other routes that connect with 220-mph corridors, to form a true modern regional and national rail network.
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The MHSRA counts 2,000 individual and organizational members.
Career
Harnish’s quotes and opinion pieces frequently appear in national, Midwest and Illinois media, and he regularly speaks around the country on high speed rail issues and railroad infrastructure.
In 2006, the Midwest High Speed Rail Association was a moving force behind Illinois General Assembly’s doubling of state funding for passenger trains from $12.1 million to $24.7 million. This funded service expansion between Chicago and Springfield, Galesburg, Quincy, Champaign, Carbondale and St. Louis, and secured continued funding for Chicago-Milwaukee service.
The MHSRA is an active member of “fourbillion.com,” a coalition of advocacy organizations working to secure a $4 billion appropriation in 2010 for high-speed rail in the U.S. The effort began after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that included $4 billion for high-speed rail. The Senate cut the allocation down to $1.2 billion in their version. The two bills will now move to a conference committee.
The Midwest High Speed Rail Association has proposed a 220-mph high speed rail link that would cut the trip from Chicago to St. Louis to 1 hour and 52 minutes, and also serve O’Hare International Airport as well as key Illinois business, university and government centers in Kankakee, Champaign, Decatur, Springfield and Edwardsville.
MHSRA views the Chicago-St. Louis link as the first of a regional 220-mph high speed rail network that would link Chicago, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh, putting more than 25 million people within a three-hour train ride of Chicago.