They fail to mention the one project that may actually impact transportation costs and timing in a big way: the Great Lakes Basin Rail project:
http://www.greatlakesbasinraileis.com/background.html
$8 billion, privately funded. Not a dime of taxpayer money but obviously will require regulatory approval and perhaps assistance with land acquisition. Before jumping onboard with the opposition, read the generous terms of the purchase offers being extended to landowners. The problem is, the closer you get to Chicago the more idiotic things get.
This project will impact freight rail, nothing remotely like passenger transport or high-speed boondoggles.
Seriously, I remember reading somewhere that certain rail freight companies reach Chicago, unload the containers onto a truck, truck the containers through/around Chicago, and then reload them onto a train farther down the line just to avoid the bottleneck.