Last week, President Obama announced an ambitious goal to build a high-speed passenger rail line in ten regions across the country. But even if President Obama’s plans for passenger rail materialize, it won’t necessarily help the entire rail system. America's freight, the cargo that moves goods across the country by rail, is in big trouble. To look at the state of the rails, The Takeaway talks with Rick Karr, a correspondent for Blueprint America. His report on the nation’s ailing freight-rail system will air on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer tonight.

Transit systems around the country are facing higher fares, service cuts and layoffs; with little help from government agencies. Some are facing increased stress because of what once seemed like a win-win financing scheme called “sale-leaseback agreements.”

Rick Karr, a reporter for the PBS production Blueprint America talks about the situation. His two-part series begins airing tonight on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Will fixing Wall Street really help Main Street? David Korten is suggesting that instead of bailout after bailout we should completely re-imagine our economy. He is the author of Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth and he joins us now to talk about the future he imagines for banks.

For more, here is David Korten on Democracy Now! discussing his book:

Despite the eight billion dollars the stimulus will pump into the nation’s transit infrastructure, local transportation agencies around the nation are in for a potentially devastating year. For the details of this looming crisis we turn to Rick Karr, a correspondent for Blueprint America at PBS.

For more, check out Blueprint America's website complete with an interactive map of the economic crises facing urban transit systems. And don't forget to watch NOW on PBS - with Blueprint America - as they travel to North Carolina to see what the future holds for mass transit in these troubling financial times.

How is the stimulus going to develop infrastructure in your city? Follow the dollars online and tell us how the stimulus plan is playing out in your community. We're sharing your stories online and on air, and we'll continue the investigation with your help.

ShovelWatch is a joint project of the non-profit investigative outfit ProPublica, the morning news program The Takeaway and WNYC, New York's flagship public radio station. With investigative reporting, interactive features and help from y