In the ideal future officials imagined Monday, locally built high-speed trains would whisk commuters from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh in fewer than four hours, with the option to stop in State College or continue to Cleveland.

With optimism stoked by the promise of $8 billion in federal stimulus money and $51 billion in upcoming legislation, business leaders, train advocates and public officials touted expanded rail service to three members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in a hearing Downtown.

"Moving more passengers to our railways could have an immediate impact on highway congestion," said Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, a member of the committee and chairman of the hearing.

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