Biden calls for more cash, new routes for Amtrak, on its 50th birthday

President Joe Biden celebrated Amtrak‘s 50th birthday Friday by calling for its routes to be expanded, including the creation of high speed rail service between Charlotte and Atlanta, and a significant increase in funding for the railroad.

More service: During a speech at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Biden touted his American Jobs Plan, which calls for an unprecedented $80 billion investment in rail, the lion's share of which would benefit Amtrak. He also rattled off a list of new city pairs that could be created with that ambitious pot of money.

“Imagine a two-hour train ride between Atlanta and Charlotte going at speeds of 220 miles an hour,“ Biden said. “A two-and-a-half hour trip between Chicago and Detroit. Or faster and more regular trips between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, a route that I imagine could be pretty popular on Fridays.”

He noted that these are some of the services he had hoped could be built years ago when, as vice president for President Barack Obama, he wrote the White House's budget request for Amtrak.