Pennsylvania seeks $3.1 billion for rail projects

Pennsylvania has applied for $3.1 billion in federal stimulus funds to build high-speed railroad projects, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The state Department of
Transportation is seeking money from an $8-billion fund established for
high-speed rail as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

PennDot requested $489.8
million for upgrades to the Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg section of the
"Keystone Corridor." The funding — for track, signal, power, and
catenary improvements, and the addition of a third express track between Atglen
and Paoli — would allow trains to reach speeds of 125 m.p.h., up from the
current 110.

The state asked for $401
million for restoring passenger rail service between Scranton and New York
City, along the "Lackawanna Cutoff."

The largest application was
for $2.3 billion to design and build the first segment of a magnetic-levitation
train line from the Pittsburgh airport to downtown.