Florida had one of three projects that received a grant of more than $1 billion. It received $1.25 billion to build an 84-mile high speed rail line connecting Tampa and Orlando. The other big winners were California, which got $2.25 billion for its statewide high speed rail program, and Illinois and Missouri, which will receive $1.1 billion in recovery funds to increase speeds on the Chicago-St. Louis Amtrak line to 110 mph.

"Through the recovery act, we are making the largest investment in infrastructure since the Interstate Highway System was created, putting Americans to work rebuilding our roads, bridges, and waterways for the future," Obama said. "That investment is how we can break ground across the country, putting people to work building high speed rail lines, because there's no reason why Europe or China should have the fastest trains when we can build them right here in America."

Biden said by investing in high speed rail, the country is doing many good things at the same time.

"We're creating good construction and manufacturing jobs in the near term; we're spurring economic development in the future; we're making our communities more livable -- and we're doing it all while decreasing America's environmental impact and increasing America's ability to compete in the world," the vice president said.

The majority of the 30 grants announced Thursday will go toward developing new, large-scale high speed rail programs, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. But there were some little grants as well for planning efforts that could lead to development of high speed lines in the future. Minnesota and Wisconsin received the smallest grant -- $1 million to study rail service between Madison, WI, and the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Applicants had submitted $57 billion of projects for the $8 billion pot of recovery rail money. The full list of grant recipients is available at tinyurl.com/HSRgrants.

Administration officials are fanning out across the country to hold local events touting the grants.

"The investments we announce today make rail a viable transportation alternative in many regions," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote on his blog Thursday. "States and regions and communities across the United States are clamoring for high speed service."

Recovery rail grants are going to projects in 31 states and the District of Columbia.

"This historic day is the culmination of more than a decade of work by state DOTs across the country to revive passenger rail as a major transportation option in America," said Gene Conti, North Carolina transportation secretary and chairman of AASHTO's Standing Committee on Rail Transportation. "This is also only the beginning of that resurgence. States stand ready to plan, build, and deliver high speed rail for the United States."

AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley attended the president and vice president's town hall in Tampa on Thursday.

"These projects represent the building blocks of our national intercity rail system," Horsley said. "They will create god jobs and reinvigorate domestic manufacturing in America. State departments of transportation have spearheaded the effort to develop and fund a national intercity passenger rail system. They are now at work with the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to shape the future through technical standards, pooled procurement, and other policies."

AASHTO launched a new high speed rail website Thursday in conjunction with the grant announcement. (see related story)

States Applaud Rail Grants

State governors welcomed the announcement Thursday that they would share in the $8 billion in grant awards for high speed and intercity passenger rail projects under the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

California received the largest amount of recovery act rail funding, $2.34 billion for four projects.

"Today's announcement is fantastic news for job creation in California," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "By showing leadership and including high speed rail funding in the recovery act, the Obama administration is strongly supporting California's high speed rail project, which is the largest public-works project in the nation. It will create jobs, save billions of pounds of greenhouse gases, and will be the first true high speed rail system to break ground in the nation."

Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire and Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond held a news conference after receiving a phone call from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to inform her of the state's $590 million rail award.

"These funds will offer great returns: we will put people to work and improve a transit service on which more and more Washingtonians rely," Gregoire said. "Thanks to these investments, we will move more people, move them more efficiently, and move them more reliably."

The Washington State Department of Transportation applied for funding to build 26 rail projects. With this funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, rail capacity will be boosted, congestion relieved, and public safety will be improved. More frequent Amtrak "Cascades" rail service between Portland and Seattle will be made possible.

"With these investments, we will greatly improve our on-time reliability and travel choice for passengers between Seattle and Portland," Hammond said. "Our team is ready to get to work building these projects that will have real economic benefits by supporting and creating jobs, reducing rail-line congestion, improving access to our ports, and upgrading railroad crossings."