Want Rail? Let Private Business Build It

Leinberger says the key is for the federal funding process to get speedier.

He writes, "We could hasten the process by making a much-needed change in federal transportation law. The federal government typically provides 20 to 80 percent of the money for local transportation projects (with local and state governments paying the rest). Yet federal funding of projects that involve private partners is extremely rare-in large part because federally funded projects typically take years to approve, and private developers usually can't tie up their capital waiting for the government wheels to turn."