By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis – The passenger rail system in the Midwest is ill-prepared to be useful in case of a natural or man-made disaster.
That's according to a report released Monday by the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission.
The commission, which is meeting in St. Louis this week, believes that passenger rail can bring people to safety when disaster strikes.
But Director Laura Kliewer said the current system is not ready.
"The capacity for passenger rail to be an emergency responder unfortunately in the Midwest it's very scarce right now because there are not dedicated train sets in the region except for a few local areas," Kliewer said.
Kliewer said two plans have been developed to improve the Midwest's passenger rail system but they require both state and federal funding to be implemented.