But some Missourians worry that Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond's lukewarm support for high-speed rail could diminish efforts in Congress to add billions more for rail projects. Bond, R-Mo., is one of the senators assigned to negotiate the final transportation allocation.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said he brought up high-speed rail in meetings Wednesday with President Barack Obama and top White House aides.

Illinois' application to win money for a high-speed rail corridor from Chicago to St. Louis is considered a leading contender for the federal funding in part because of Illinois' clout in Washington. But Quinn said he supported Missouri's application for rail improvements that could lead one day to a Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City high-speed corridor.

"We have a very close relationship with Gov. Jay Nixon on this whole issue of high-speed rail from Chicago to St. Louis, and we're interested in continuing on to Kansas City," Quinn said at a news conference in the Capitol.

Missouri and Illinois transportation officials also have sent letters to the federal government endorsing one another's proposals.

In addition, Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis., said that on two occasions he has presented Missouri's case to Vice President Joe Biden, most recently last month. Carnahan also made personal appeals recently to Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Carnahan said he saw "an intersection of rare opportunities, and I just don't want to leave any stone unturned. I'm making the pitch for linking Missouri's two biggest cities, our two biggest economic engines with the state capital in between, and having all that connected with the Chicago hub."

Missouri and Illinois face heavy competition: The government has received 45 high-speed rail applications from 24 states requesting more than $50 billion, in addition to 214 requests for $7 billion in smaller projects.

As a member of the House Transportation Committee, Carnahan pushed successfully to add an additional $4 billion for high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects to next year's transportation appropriation. The Senate agreed to add $1.2 billion. A conference committee made up of House members and senators, Bond among them, must work out the differences.

Bond has been critical of high-speed rail both because of cost and because of what he regards as a lack of congressional involvement in the awards.

"Increasing funding another $3 billion over the Senate bill now, without a comprehensive plan or appropriate oversight in place, is not the best use of limited taxpayer funds," he said.

Carnahan responded that he hoped Bond would change his mind.