MADISON, Wis. -- High-speed passenger rail is on its way to Wisconsin after President Barack Obama announced that a rail line from Milwaukee to Madison will be fully funded.

Of $8 billion awarded to high-speed rail projects around the country, more than 10 percent of it -- $822 million -- is coming to Wisconsin.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced the project at news conferences in Madison and Milwaukee Thursday.

The majority of the funds earmarked for Wisconsin -- $810 million -- will go to a Madison-Milwaukee corridor. The White House said another $12 million will be used for rail improvements in the Milwaukee-to-Chicago corridor.

Doyle said the extension of the Hiawatha line from Chicago to Milwaukee would be started by the end of this year and finished by 2013. It would send two high-speed trains up and down the line running from Milwaukee to Watertown and through Waterloo and Sun Prairie before getting to Madison.

"As a result of the $822 million, we will be making major investments to create thousands of jobs and improve our state's ability to create jobs for years to come," said Doyle.

The governor said the project will create up to 13,000 jobs in the state and eliminate 7.8 million car trips, among other environmental benefits.

Mo Hansen, clerk/treasurer of the city of Waterloo, has also been looking at high-speed rail plans for years, watching how a high-speed rail would literally cut his community of Waterloo in half.

"Mitigating noise, vibration, light concerns and so forth, just mitigating an array of consequences with safety being the priority is kind of what we're focused on," said Hansen.

Hansen said he is hoping somewhere in the $822 million is money for sound barriers and street improvements, as five of the city's crossings would be closed.

"We're the home of Trek Bicycle, we're a pedestrian-oriented community. So we can tie in assets of those types, because we're looking at all options to make this a positive for Waterloo as best we can," said Hansen.

And as the project chugs into action, supporters said the fact that it's even starting is huge.

"I think all of us have waited for this day for a long time and for many who have often sat around saying we should have better passenger rail service in the country, this is the day that it now is happening," said Doyle.

The community of Waterloo is planning a public hearing on the rail line on Feb. 24 for residents to air concerns. The governor said plans are for construction to start on the line by the end of this year and to be completed by 2013.

In his blog on Wednesday, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said this rail project is the fourth largest in the nation behind projects in California, Florida and Illinois. Cieslewicz called the news a big win for the local economy, both now and in the future.

"This is a huge win for Wisconsin's economy in two ways. First, it means lots of family-supporting jobs will be created in the design, engineering and building of lines and the stations. It could even mean that some of the trains themselves or their components could be built here in Wisconsin," Cieslewicz said. "And after the service gets up and operating, it means that Wisconsin's center of industry and commerce in Milwaukee will be much more closely united to its center of government and research here in Madison."

The mayor said work would now begin finalizing station locations, possibly on Madison's near East Side and at the Dane County Regional Airport.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced the grants at a town hall-style meeting in Tampa, Fla., Thursday -- a follow-up appearance to the president's State of the Union address. The administration said the rail projects will save or create tens of thousands of jobs.

Thirteen rail corridors in 31 states will receive funds. Though the White House billed the program as "high-speed rail," most of the trains won't reach the speeds seen in Europe and Asia.