Georgia senator pushing for billions for high-speed rail line

Written by RT&S Staff
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Maryland officials have rejected a proposal to build a new rail tunnel underneath the city of Baltimore.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is attempting to line up billions of dollars for a long-awaited high-speed rail line in the Southeast.

Ossoff has written a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who chairs the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Ossoff wants $10 billion to be included in the budget reconciliation bill for a route that would run through Georgia and North Carolina.

In the letter, Ossoff said Congress should allocate robust resources for high-speed rail necessary to advance the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor, which has been a long-planned project of national significance necessary to connect the fast-growing American Southeast.

The Federal Railroad Administration and state DOTs in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have chosen a preferred high-speed rail corridor which would be 274 miles long and connect Atlanta to Charlotte. The FRA has completed a final environmental impact report on the project.

Ossoff also wants to see a high-speed rail line that would include stops in Atlanta, Savannah, Ga., Nashville, Tenn., and Jacksonville, Fla.

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