Plans to construct a high-speed rail line linking Richmond and the District have taken a big step forward with $45.4 million in grants from the Federal Railroad Administration.
The federal funds will go to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which will complete preliminary engineering plans and environmental assessments on the rail line.
“High-speed passenger rail promises significant economic benefits for Richmond and the commonwealth,” said U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Virginia. “These funds will spur job creation and economic growth while reducing traffic on our highways in a cost-effective way.”
Trains are expected to zip along the 115 miles of track between the state and national capitals at speed of 85 to 100 mph, allowing passengers to reach their destination in about 90 minutes.
The line is one segment of a planned Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, which would connect the District and Virginia to Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.
“This funding helps build on the effort to bring high-speed rail to Virginia and along the entire Southeastern U.S.,” said Sen. Mark Warner.
The Virginia Democrat said he believed the new rail line would improve the flow of traffic on the state’s crowded East Coast highways.
“Improved passenger rail service along the Interstate 95 corridor will reduce highway congestion, conserve energy, shorten travel times and create economic development opportunities,” Warner said.
The Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor is just one segment of a larger plan to connect Virginia and points south to New York, Boston and other stops along a planned Northeast High Speed Rail Corridor.
With the urging of the Obama administration, the railroad administration plans to distribute roughly $8 billion in funding for 13 high-speed rail corridors over 31 states.
But the railroad administration has handed out less than $1 billion partly because roadblocks have arisen between federal transportation officials and freight rail companies, which own at least 90 percent of the country’s rail network.
A spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Thursday would provide more details on the Richmond-to-D.C. rail grants. The project does not have an estimated completion date.
