$50-million Recovery Act grant for Vermont high-speed rail
Written by jrood
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $50 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars for the State of Vermont to begin construction to improve 190 miles of track between St. Albans and Vernon on Amtrak's Vermonter line. The improvements will result in increased speeds, reduced travel time and greater reliability.
The $50-million ARRA grant
awarded under the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program, will be
used to install continuously welded rail and other track improvements, new
crossties, highway-rail grade crossing safety improvements on track owned by
the New England Central Railroad, a RailAmerica Inc. property. The improvements
will also set the stage for more frequent service along this corridor and for
extending the Vermonter service to Montreal, Quebec in the future.
"This cooperation between
Vermont and the New England Central Railroad will immediately put people to
work and means long-term infrastructure improvements," said Federal Railroad
Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. "Achieving faster travel times, greater speed
and increased reliability are the primary goals of our program, which this
project will accomplish."
Amtrak’s Vermonter service
is an integral transportation link between Washington, D.C., New York City,
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. Within the limits of this project
approximately 80,000 people traveled on the Vermonter in 2009, and more than
80,000 thus far in 2010 with the service showing an average 16.2 percent
increase in ridership.
FRA has released more than
$648 million of the $8 billion down payment provided in the Recovery Act for
the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program.
