As the sage Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!” When it comes to financing transportation infrastructure, our nation has come to a fork in the road and we must take action.

President Obama’s high-speed rail plan is noble but sounds like and is today just a way to speed trips between certain cities (10 corridors at the moment). That’s just too short-sighted. We need a vision that links the country, all the major urban centers, together with high-speed rail.

This is our year. Infrastructure is no longer just a word thrown about by policy wonks and engineers. The public, and more importantly politicians, have made public works, especially transportation, a front and center issue.

Today on The Number Thirteen Line: The future of rail transportation in New York. The Number Thirteen Line is a monthly blog about transportation in New York and around the world by "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz and Annie Weinstock.

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Number Thirteen Line, a monthly blog about transportation in New York and around the world by "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz and Annie Weinstock. This month’s topic: The Stimulus Package and its impact on transportation.

Leading transportation engineer and former New York traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz analyzes President-elect Obama's plans to boost spending on America's infrastructure.