Do you fancy yourself to be a handyman or woman who would enjoy a career in construction or in welding? If you enjoy working with your hands, you will be glad to know that the Obama administration is planning to pump about $8 billion worth of stimulus funds into a high-speed-rail project. As might be expected, a number of companies, train makers, railroad companies and even state governments are scrambling to get their piece of the pie. No matter how it all pans out, however, the funds are sure to make plenty more jobs available within the railroad sector.

So far, the National Railroad Passenger Corp – which is better known as Amtrak – has acknowledged that it is working with 24 states as well as with the District of Columbia in order to put together its high-speed-rail application. Similarly, HNTB Corp, which is a planning, design and construction management firm located in Missouri, has also acknowledged that is working with Florida as well as five other states in order to create its application as well.

In addition to the many U.S.-based companies that are vying for the funding, there are also several companies based outside of the country who are trying to work with certain states in an attempt to get their hands on some funding. Siemens USA, which is based in Germany, has already spent about $26 million in an effort to expand a rail car-building factory it has located in Sacramento, California. Already, the company is providing passenger vehicles for a variety of light-rail systems in place in Denver, San Diego and Salt Lake City. In addition, the company has already announced plans to hire more than 100 new employees within the next year or so.

Other foreign-based companies competing for funding include Bombardier Inc., which is based in Canada, as well as France-based Alston SA. Both of these companies have already established themselves as major players within the US market, with Bombardier Inc. being responsible for building the Amtrack trains that currently run the Acela service running between Boston and Washington – the fastest trains currently in operation within the United States.

The number of companies that stand to benefit from the stimulus bill seems to be endless. In addition, 215 applications have already been submitted by various states in an effort to obtain funding for projects that are already set and ready to go. Many of these states stand to receive funding through the first phase of the stimulus package within the next few weeks or so. Next month, the states will begin submitting another round of applications to help pay for the construction of high-speed rail corridors.