Missouri is one of a handful of states applying for some $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail projects that Florida rejected last month.
Governor Jay Nixon was in Kirkwood today to announce Missouri's application for nearly $1 billion in new funding.
In recent months, rail projects have become politicized with many GOP lawmakers calling for states to refuse the funds.
For his part, Nixon, a Democrat, says he sees rail as a good investment for Missouri.
"From my chair I don't look at this as a partisan issue, I mean dollars that weren't available have been made available," Nixon said. "And we have a very very small amount of state resources that we have to be put up, I mean $4.5 million to potentially get a billion dollars."
Missouri's application is earmarked for Amtrak's St. Louis to Kansas City line.
The project would complement a high-speed project already underway between St. Louis and Chicago.
President Barack Obama has championed $53 billion in high-speed projects to spur job growth across the country.
