A high speed rail system in Michigan and the Midwest -– with a stop in Dearborn -– will boost the economy, create nearly 58,000 jobs and reduce highway and airport congestion, according to a new report issued this week by a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.

The new report – Connecting the Midwest – by the Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM), analyzes the potential of high-speed rail to the Midwest, and looks at benefits specific to eight Midwestern states, including Michigan.

Key findings of the report include:

• A completed Midwest high-speed rail network will create nearly 58,000 permanent jobs, and support 15,200 jobs during the 10 years it would take to construct the project. Improved passenger rail service would tap Michigan’s manufacturing base to supply equipment for high-speed rail.

• Traffic congestions costs major Midwest metropolitan areas more than $10 billion annually in lost economic output. Midwest high-speed rail will reduce air travel by 1.3 million trips and car travel by 5.1 million trips per year by 2020, curbing congestion.

• A high-speed rail connection between downtown Detroit and Chicago would feature 10 trains per day, and reduce travel time between the cities to 3 hours and 46 minutes — faster than driving, and competitive with air travel (with airport waiting time taken into account).

• Improved passenger rail service in Michigan is already making an impact: Improved controls allowed Amtrak to increase speeds along parts of the Detroit-Chicago corridor in 2002 and 2005. Amtrak ridership on Michigan trains increased 24 percent between fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2009, despite the economic downturn.

• High-speed rail will give consumers more transportation options. Fully 69 percent of Michigan residents would live within 15 miles of a high-speed rail station, and 71 percent of the state’s workforce would be employed within 15 miles of a station. Regionally, 58 percent of Midwesterners, or 35 million people, would live within 15 miles of a high-speed rail station; 17 million would live within five miles of a station. More than one out of every four jobs in the region would be within five miles of a station.

• An Amtrak passenger uses 30 percent less energy per passenger mile than a passenger car, reducing dependence on oil. The system would prevent 188,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year by replacing less efficient car and plane travel. The amount is equal to the annual emissions of 34,000 cars.

“As the saying goes, ‘you are either part of the problem, or part of the solution,” said Meghan Hess, PIRGIM program associate. “High-speed rail is a part of the solution – boosting our economy and creating jobs, modernizing our transportation system and helping to solve our nation’s oil dependency, worsening congestion, and pollution. High-speed rail gets us moving, in the right direction.”

In January, the Obama administration announced that 31 states will receive a portion of $8 billion in funding to build and plan for high-speed rail under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Midwest received funds totaling $2.7 billion for rail projects in six states. A $244 million Recovery Act grant will pay for new rail stations in Dearborn, Troy and Battle Creek, as well as track improvements that will assist commuter lines between Ann Arbor, Detroit and Howell.

“The proposal being presented today represents a realistic program to raise passenger train speeds on the Chicago-Detroit corridor,” said John DeLora, executive committee chair of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers. “While it will not create true ‘bullet trains’ such as those running in Europe or Japan, it will create a program of incremental improvements, which will offer 100 mph train speeds over most of the route, dramatically shortening trip times.”

The report urges Congress to invest adequate resources in intercity rail and set performance standards to fully realize rail’s potential. It calls on the President and Congress to articulate a national vision for high-speed rail similar to the vision outlined by President Eisenhower for the Federal Highway system.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. also supports improvements in the local rail system.

“Dearborn is an integral part of multiple rail initiatives, encouraging more people to use trains for commuting to their jobs or college classes, and for attending special events and visitor attractions,” he said in a written statement. “We are also excited about our new intermodal passenger train station. We are in support of the Midwest High Speed Rail Initiative because it broadens the economic opportunities for our community and promotes even greater environmental benefits.”