The report, by the U.S. Public Interest Group, or PIRG, concludes that high speed rail improvements will also reduce traffic congestion between Boston and Portland, and beyond.

A new report claims to show the economic benefits of Maine's long-term commitment to a high speed rail service. This comes less than two weeks after the Obama administration announced Maine would be getting $35 million in stimulus funds to extend the Downeaster rail service from Portland to Brunswick.

According to today's report, released by the non-profit U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG, full funding for the improvements will help create nearly 2,500 jobs and generate almost a billion dollars in revenue over the next 20 years.

Chris Bell, a transportation advocate with PIRG, says high speed rail improvements have the potential to significantly reduce traffic between Boston and Portland, and beyond. "Adding just two round trips a day to the Downeaster would reduce the congestion by about 81,000 vehicle-miles per day on I-95 and other networks," he says.

The report also claims that completion of a national high-speed rail network would reduce U.S. air travel by 500,000 flights annually.