Riders get on the Amtrak train to Chicago on Friday in Lafayette. With discussions about federal money being spent to add high-speed rail lines in the Midwest, some locals are getting excited about the possibilities for Lafayette. By Michael Heinz/Journal & Courier

By Dorothy Schneider, Journal & Gazette

dschneider@jg.net

With federal stimulus funding being considered for high-speed rail in the Midwest, local riders and advocates of the service are hoping the faster trains come through Lafayette.

Baudilio Tejerina is a native of Spain who works for Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., near Chicago. Tejerina travels to Lafayette regularly to work with faculty at Purdue. He always makes the trip on an Amtrak train. He said he likes the comfort, but said it would be "fantastic" to see the line upgraded to a higher speed service.

"It would be something that belongs to this century," said Tejerina, who is used to the high-speed trains throughout Europe and wonders why there isn't a similar system in the U.S.

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