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Yesterday, passenger-rail industry constituents and advocates applauded the Obama Administration’s $53 billion high-speed rail network proposal as a long-term investment in the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

The proposal, unveiled yesterday by Vice President Joseph Biden in Philadelphia, calls for committing $53 billion in federal dollars over the next six years to build a national high-speed and intercity rail network. The plan would help the nation reach President Obama's goal, as outlined in the State of the Union address, of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail in the next 25 years.

As a step toward the goal, Obama plans to allocate $8 billion for high-speed rail in the fiscal-year 2012 budget proposal he’ll send to Congress on Feb. 14.

The proposed rail network would include three types of interconnected rail corridors: "core express" that form the high-speed system's backbone; "crucial regional" corridors with train speeds of 90 mph to 125 mph; and "emerging" corridors with trains traveling up to 90 mph that would provide access to the high-speed and intercity passenger network.

The U.S. Department of Transportation would identify the corridors in partnership with states, freight railroads and private companies.

The proposal is consistent with the president’s commitment to an integrated transportation system that "includes infrastructure investment not only for rail, but for highways, bridges, ferries and runways," said state of Washington Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond in a prepared statement.

Hammond, who also chairs the States for Passenger Rail Coalition, attended Biden's speech in Philadelphia.

"A recovered economy will depend on an integrated transportation system that works for everyone," she said.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) also endorsed the proposal for its job-creation potential.

"Investing in our country's transportation infrastructure is vital for economic growth, competitiveness and quality of life," said APTA President William Millar in a prepared statement. "In addition, the formation of a high-speed rail network that connects to public transportation will relieve both highway and aviation congestion."

Whether the proposal will pass muster in Congress is another matter, however. U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), who chairs the House Transportation Committee, criticized the president’s latest proposal as well as the Administration’s handling of the first $10.5 billion toward developing high-speed rail — $8 billion from Recovery Act stimulus funds and $2.5 billion from the 2010 budget.

"Rather than focusing on the Northeast Corridor, the most congested corridor in the nation and the only corridor owned by the federal government, the Administration continues to squander limited taxpayer dollars on marginal projects," Mica said in a prepared statement.