The thought of train rides in the United States usually brings out painful memories.

The close quarters, the long rides, the delays.

Could building a high-speed rail a la Europe and Japan be the answer?

“The need is there, anyone that fights the Eisenhower can see that,” said Christophe Constantinides, a St. Charles resident. Constantinides is accustomed to using the ultra-efficient trains of Europe as a native of Greece.

Constantinides stands outside waiting for his wife to arrive on a Metra train from Chicago. The train is about five minutes late because a freight train delayed it. He bemoans Metra not having its own track, and although he wants a faster rail system in America, Constantinides doesn’t believe the resources are currently there.

U.S. Rep Bill Foster, D-14, of Geneva said he understands frustrations with the transportation system and believes the time for high-speed rail has come.

Foster said high-speed rail is one of the highest priorities in Illinois.

“It’s unlikely that fuel costs are going to be dropping,” Foster said. “The efficientcy of rail trails is spectacular, so I recently signed a letter to Obama and Transportation Secretary (Ray) LaHood in support of the high-speed rail network, specifically the corridor between Chicago and St. Louis.”

In April, President Barack Obama announced his intentions to allocate $13 billion over the next five years, including $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, for a high speed rail transportation system that would connect different states and cities.

Obama said there would be at least 10 major corridors, including the “Chicago Hub Network,” which would look to connect Chicago to about 13 surrounding cities, including Milwaukee, St. Louis and Indianapolis.

The high-speed rail network came closer to reality in early May when Union Pacific and the Illinois

Department of Transportation came to a memorandum of understanding, which will start an examination of the upgrades needed to accommodate high-speed rail service along the Chicago to St. Louis route.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn also spoke in favor of the new rail system this past week, asking legislators to invest in the high-speed rail system.

Quinn’s office said in order to fully leverage the federal money, Illinois would need around $400 million in state funding for high-speed rail from the capital bill.

Foster said the high-speed rail would “take the load off of” O’Hare and regional airports and help package delivery services such as FedEx. “My guess is if this were running eight years from now, we’d be doing very well,” Foster said.

Mark Workman, a Batavia area businessman, said he thinks it would be a great idea for local area travelers such as himself. Workman said he flies every week and rarely takes the train.

“I would love to not have to go to the airport and fly,” Workman said.

Rick Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, said expanding the high-speed railroad will help with the energy and economic problems the world currently faces.

“(A high-speed train) is more energy-efficient than flying, it’s faster, it’s more productive, it leads to more walkable communities,” Harnish said. “The results to the state would be huge.”

Meg Reile, a Metra spokeswoman, said that Metra supports high speed rail becuase it can provide a number of infrastructure improvements that help Metra, including track improvements.