New York State may not have gotten all that it wanted in the president’s allocation of high-speed rail money—state transportation officials bear some blame for that—but that doesn’t mean there won’t be more funding to go after in the future. Increased cross-state connectivity could be a huge boost for the state economy, and the Western New York congressional delegation should continue to push for help.

In the meantime, the $151 million to help develop a proposed high-speed rail line from Buffalo to New York City makes the state only the 10th largest recipient of the funds, of 31 states that applied and 11 that actually got funding. The leading states—California and Florida—got billions. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood commented that “I think the money we gave New York reflects what we thought about their application.”

In short, there’s obviously room for improvement. But at least this money, along with about $4.6 million already secured from this year’s Consolidated Appropriations Act, will make a difference in creating a third track between Rochester and Batavia, construction of a second track between Schenectady and Albany and improvements between Albany and Montreal. That’s important because now, Amtrak passenger trains have to wait for freight trains from the track-owning freight lines to pass; delays are frequent.

Getting even this far in the competition for part of the initial $8 billion passed in the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” has been a team effort, with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, forming an upstate congressional caucus for the job. Slaughter and Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand appropriately expressed appreciation for the money—but also are prepared for an effort to make sure upstate receives more funding.

The continued effort should help in some day reaching the point of 110-mph trains that would reduce travel time from Buffalo to Albany to 3z hour 1/3 and to New York City to less than six hours. The significance of shorter commute times, without the frequent stops due to freight priority, would be far-reaching and would make in-state rail traffic a solid alternative to airport delays.

As Slaughter stated, faster rail and more efficient use of existing tracks also is important for future businesses dependent on rail delivery and shipment. Moreover, building and maintenance of a high-speed rail system could create more than 247,000 jobs—the point of including this in stimulus spending.

Other benefits include an enhanced ability to draw tourists, facilitate domestic business and binational trade travel and recruit university and college students from across the state. Eventually, the system also could connect Niagara Falls to high-speed rail through a commuter rail service, under a 2030 Long Range Transportation plan that would link Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

Improving this nation’s infrastructure is one of the focal points for the president, and the positive environmental and economic impact of improving the American rail system is significant. The allocation received so far is a good start, but just a start. We need a better application next time, or this train could leave the station without us.