FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 27, 2010                                                                                              

Contact: Daniel L. Plaugher, 804.864.5193

 Southeast Seeks $347 Million to Continue Advancing High Speed Rail

Richmond- Virginia and North Carolina have requested a combined $347 million from the latest round of federal high speed rail funding. Their applications were in response to the Federal Railroad Administration’s June 28, 2010 request for proposals for the $2.4 billion in available high speed rail funding in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FY 2010 budget.

North Carolina submitted an application for $290 million that included $55 million in state matching funds. The projects included in the application are new bridges at Sugar Creek Road and 36^th Street in Charlotte and Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, as well as track improvements to support new multi-modal stations in Charlotte, Lexington and Hillsborough.

Virginia submitted two applications for $57 million that included $11.4 million in state matching funds. The projects included in the application are $1.5 million to begin preliminary engineering on a new Appomattox River bridge, and $55.4 million to complete the Tier II environmental impact statement for the Washington to Richmond corridor that will make the corridor “shovel ready”.

In addition to these proposed projects, Virginia, North Carolina, and the federal government are currently investing over $713 million to advance the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor—  including $520 million to advance the Charlotte to Raleigh corridor to emerging high speed rail, $25 million to improve safety between Richmond and Raleigh, $75 million to upgrade over 10 percent of the Washington to Richmond corridor, and $93 million to extend intercity passenger rail between Richmond and Norfolk.

“These applications represent the next step in continuing to advance the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor” stated Daniel L. Plaugher, executive director of the Southeast High Speed Rail Association and Virginians for High Speed Rail, “which is vital to reducing congestion, creating jobs, and keeping our region competitive in a global economy.”

The Southeast High Speed Rail Association (SEHSRA) is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit coalition of citizens, businesses, and community organizations that educate and advocate for the improvement and expansion of fast, frequent, and reliable rail service linking the Southeast. For more information visit www.southeasthsr.org

Virginians for High Speed Rail (VHSR) is a non-profit 501(C) (3) coalition, founded in 1994, that educates and advocates for the improvement and expansion of fast, frequent, and reliable intercity and high speed passenger rail service connecting Virginia to the northeast and southeast corridors. For more information visit www.vhsr.com.

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