Governor Nixon has reached agreement with seven other governors as well as the mayor of Chicago to work together to obtain federal money to build high-speed passenger rail in the Midwest.

Nixon spokesman, Scott Holste, says the governors have agreed to work with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to secure a piece of the $8 billion being made available for high-speed rail in the country.

"The Midwest states are in a very good position to compete aggressively for the federal recovery money that has been specifically set aside for developing high-speed rail," Holste says.

Nixon has pledged with the other governors and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to work together to get a piece of the billions set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to develop a Midwest high-speed rail network with Chicago as the hub. A route between Chicago and St. Louis would be part of the initial development phase. A route between St. Louis and Kansas City is in the second phase of the plan.

The governor’s office says the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the governors and Mayor Daley will coordinate applications to the Federal Railroad Administration for ARRA funding to develop the Midwest corridor. The other states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.