Virginia officials have partnered leaders in North Carolina to bring high-speed rail to both states.
The Virginia – North Carolina High Speed Rail compact, authorized by congress, will look at constructing a high-speed rail corridor between Washington and Charlotte, N.C. that could cost as much as $4.15 billion, according to a Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation spokesman.
Trains that would serve the corridor would stop in Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia and Raleigh, N.C.
Virginia Del. Richard L. Anderson, R–51 was appointed to serve on compact and attended the commission’s first meeting last week in North Carolina.
“I don’t view high-speed rail as being a cure-all for all the transportation needs in all regions in the state and in the country, but we’ve got to move faster to get more rail implemented to address the transportation challenges that face our region,” said Anderson.
Officials say the majority of the funds to build the rail line would come from the federal government due to the extensive cost of the project.
The compact comes after Virginia was awarded $75 million of federal stimulus funds for high-speed rail improvements in January, for improvements between Stafford County and Powells Creek, near Dumfries.
It was a fraction of the $1.8 billion the state requested form the federal government in 2009 for rail improvements between Washington and Petersburg.
Information from insidenova.com.
