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Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to provide only $1 billion for the high-speed rail program in fiscal-year 2011.

That’s $400 million less than what the House Appropriations Committee approved and less than half of the $2.5 billion the program received last year, according to a press release from the National Association of Railroad Passengers.

Earlier this week, the OneRail Coalition sent a letter to leaders  of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies, urging them to take a “balanced approach” in determining FY2011 transportation investments — including more high-speed rail funding.

The coalition asked Subcommittee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Ranking Member Kit Bond (R-Mo.) to commit “at least $2.5 billion” for high-speed and intercity passenger rail programs.

In addition to the $1 billion appropriated for high-speed rail, the committee also set aside $1.96 billion for Amtrak. That’s $666 million less that what the national passenger railroad requested, but $196.5 million more than the House’s proposed appropriation and about $363 million more than what the Obama Administration requested.