Post-Tribune staff and wire report
Indiana is one of eight states seeking stimulus funds for a network of high-speed trains with Chicago as its hub.
Governors from Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin have sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking for support.
A first phase would upgrade passenger-train routes from Chicago to St. Louis, from Chicago to Madison, Wis., and from Chicago to Pontiac, Mich., via Detroit.
Officials say the initial phase would cost around $3.5 billion and could be completed by 2014.
A later phase would develop the St. Louis-to-Kansas City route.
A spokesman for Gov. Daniels could not be reached for comment.
Of the three routes, only Amtrak's "Wolverine" ine, which serves the Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac route, travels through Northest Indiana, making three stops daily in Hammond and Michigan City.
Most Amtrak trains don't stop in Northwest Indiana, according to an agency spokesman. In 2008, Hammond and Michigan City stations took on an average of only 121 passengers and 42 passengers a week, respectively, compared to 338 a week in South Bend, a featured stop on routes east from Chicago.
A statement from Missouri's governor doesn't specify how much of the $8 billion in the federal stimulus bill for high-speed rail the states will seek.