North Carolina Receives $545 Million for High-Speed Rail from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that North Carolina is receiving $545 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for further development of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, a nearly 500-mile route that will allow trains to travel between Charlotte and Washington, D.C. at top speeds of up to 90-110 miles per hour and an average speed of 86 mph.
“Building this high-speed rail corridor will put our people to work on critical infrastructure projects and boost local economies in North Carolina,” said Gov. Perdue. “This is a huge leap toward making high-speed rail in North Carolina a reality.”
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the funding award today during a ceremony at the newly renovated Durham train station. The project is expected to create or maintain 4,800 private sector jobs in North Carolina and provide environmental and energy benefits through reduced congestion and improved air quality.
“Every dollar we spend on high speed rail is an investment in job creation and in cleaning the air we all breathe,” said U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Building high speed rail will put people in North Carolina to work right away, lay the foundation for long term growth and make travel faster and cheaper - all while reducing our impact on the environment.”
Under the recovery funding, North Carolina received $520 million for improvements that will enable higher track speeds along the corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte and $25 million for projects to improve reliability of existing service from Raleigh north to Virginia. In addition, Virginia received $75 million for improvements to the Richmond to Washington, D.C. section of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.
“We’ve been working with our partners in multiple states to lay the foundation for a high-speed rail network that will serve as the Main Street of the East Coast,” said state Transportation Secretary Gene Conti. “These funds will help us realize that vision and continue our efforts here in North Carolina to build a 21st century transportation network that incorporates all modes of travel.”
Since the USDOT designated Charlotte to Washington, D.C. as a high-speed rail corridor in 1992, the N.C. Department of Transportation has invested more than $300 million in the state’s intercity passenger rail service for renovation and construction of train stations, track work improvements and corridor preservation projects in order to pave the way for high-speed service.
The high-speed rail corridor funding award meshes with the goals outlined in NCDOT’s new Complete Streets policy, which calls for a diverse transportation infrastructure that encompasses all modes of travel, from bicycles and ferries to cars and rail. The corridor project is also in conjunction with the Statewide Logistics Plan, which leverages the state’s assets to improve the economic well-being of all North Carolinians.
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