Rick Harnish

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.

The MHSRA counts 2,000 individual and organizational members.^[1]

Career

Harnish’s quotes and opinion pieces frequently appear in national,^[2] Midwest ^[3] and Illinois ^[4] 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.^[5][6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8][9]

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.^[10]

References