I did something that I have never done before this past Saturday.

Myself-and more than 51,000 riders-officially welcomed the new Light Rail train here in Seattle, Washington. By the time the weekend ended more than 92,000 had gotten a present day glimpse of the future, and of what progress looks like.

It certainly had been a long time coming. I went to college in Chicago where the popular L train goes all over the city in an efficient manner that got me through my university years safe and sound. Riding the Light Rail reminded me of those years and it made me happy to see that Seattle has finally taken the leap that many other big cities took years ago.

I recently came across a Newsweek article that had to do with Obama’s high-speed rail (HSR) plan that he spoke about in April. Next month, the first funds will be split among the 11 designated corridors. I don’t know when or if the project will really get rolling toward reality, but watching my fellow excited passengers on this inaugural day made me excited about a future that would include similarly overjoyed passengers, across the nation, happy that a new alternative to planes or automobiles was now a reality.

Given that this is the Generation O blog, I thought it was interesting that it was due to the young pro-Obama voters that a 2008 $18 billion ballot measure was passed for rail funding, when just a year before a roads-and-transit package had failed.

All in all, the construction of the Light Rail took a total of 5 years and cost $2.3 billion. It currently goes from Tukwila, a suburb of Seattle to the heart of downtown. By 2016, it will stretch out to the University of Washington and by the end of 2009, we will be able to take it to Sea-Tac airport.

The rides on Saturday and Sunday were free, which I think was an excellent way to promote the Light Rail. Also free? An awesome souvenir sticker:

-Mica