U.S. DOT gives $48 million to N.C. To D.C. HSR, $13 million to NEC

The United States Department of Transportation awarded North Carolina and Virginia $48.3 million to advance the development of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, which will link Raleigh, N.C., to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va. These grants will ultimately spur high-speed and intercity passenger rail development as far south as Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., and to the Tidewater Region of Hampton Roads and Norfolk, Va. "Thanks to the investments we are making today, Americans across the Southeast will have convenient access to faster, more efficient passenger rail connecting to destinations all along the Northeast Corridor," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Passenger rail will also help alleviate traffic along congested sections of I-95, foster economic development and provide Americans with a greener, cleaner, more sustainable way to travel." The federal investment will fund a number of high-speed rail projects in North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.: • North Carolina - $4 million for environmental and design work for the construction of a new connection between Raleigh and Richmond, that could reduce travel time to two hours between the two cities, a reduction of one hour and 30 minutes from the current schedule. The North Carolina Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, will contribute $3.9 million toward this project. • Virginia - $44.3 million for environmental analysis and preliminary engineering to prepare for the construction of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor between Washington and Richmond. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation will contribute $11.1 million toward this project. U.S. DOT also awarded a $13.3 million grant for the Delaware Department of Transportation to add a third track immediately south of the Wilmington, Del., station. The additional track will eliminate a chokepoint on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, improving on-time performance, with increased schedule flexibility on Amtrak's high-speed Acela and Northeast Regional services, as well as local commuter rail service. "The Obama Administration's historic investment in the Northeast Corridor will modernize its aging railways, dramatically improve its capacity for high-speed rail and create thousands of good-paying jobs by using materials made in the U.S.A.," said Secretary LaHood. The project includes construction of 1.5 miles of a third track near Wilmington Station, two additional crossovers and a bridge replacement that will help reduce congestion and deliver increased on-time performance. In addition to Amtrak's intercity operations between Washington, D.C., and Boston, Mass., commuter trains operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will also benefit from this additional track capacity, through improved reliability. Freight operations will be enhanced as a result of the greater dispatching flexibility within the NEC. The Federal Transit Administration and Federal Highway Administration will contribute a combined $38.4 million to this project.