States Vie for a Slice of High-Speed Rail Stimulus

Billions of dollars in federal funding may transform the way Americans travel in the years ahead.
States Vie for a Slice of High-Speed Rail Stimulus
MASS TRANSIT FUTURE: (above and below) A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)
8/30/2009
Updated:
8/30/2009
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CHSR_Stills_09_Page_02_Imag_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CHSR_Stills_09_Page_02_Imag_medium.jpg" alt="MASS TRANSIT FUTURE: (above and below) A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)" title="MASS TRANSIT FUTURE: (above and below) A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-91624"/></a>
MASS TRANSIT FUTURE: (above and below) A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)
Billions of dollars in federal funding may transform the way Americans travel in the years ahead.

Government subsidies will soon siphon off funds to a stimulus program designed to jump-start high-speed rail system development, similar to the long-term effort in building the interstate highway system in the nation. The high-speed rail stimulus for various projects in different states will be announced in late September, U.S. officials said on Monday.

California alone, submitted 42 applications on Tuesday for $1.1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding available through the high-speed and intercity passenger rail program.

“On top of stimulating the California economy, federal investment in California’s rail systems will help lay a sustainable foundation for economic growth, help us meet our environmental goals and improve quality of life here in California,” Gov. Schwarzenegger said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced last month that it received an overwhelming number of requests from state and local governments seeking financing for high-speed rail systems.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CHSR_Stills_09_Page_20_Imag_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/CHSR_Stills_09_Page_20_Imag_medium.jpg" alt="A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)" title="A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-91625"/></a>
A computer rendition of a proposed high-speed train in California. The state seeks $1.1 billion in high-speed rail stimulus funds. (NC3D)
Among the states vying for a slice of nearly USD$8 billion in government stimulus are Virginia, which is seeking financing to lay more than 11 miles of track along the busy I-95 corridor south of Washington, D.C., and North Carolina, which sent proposals for establishing faster passenger rail service heading north from Raleigh.

The stimulus package passed in February by President Obama’s administration allocated the $8 billion as the first step toward building a national high-speed rail network. More than $1 billion is budgeted each year over the next five years.

But one factor that could influence the Federal Railway Agency decisions is how much money the states themselves are willing to contribute. Since 1990, California has reportedly invested more than $1.3 billion in railway infrastructure and equipment. California voters last year approved an additional $9 billion in state borrowing for high-speed rail service that would move people and products from the southern to the northern parts of the state in a matter of only a few hours.

“By approving a nearly $10 billion bond in November, voters spoke loud and clear that rail, including intercity, commuter, and high-speed, must play a greater role in addressing the transportation and environmental challenges we face in the 21st century,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Despite the enthusiasm, the United States still lags far behind Europe and Japan where passengers bullet-trains move across at a speed of up to 220 miles per hour. Most likely, many of the allocated subsidies from the $8 billion stimulus program will finance projects with trains traveling not faster than 80 miles per hour, because passenger trains often share tracks with slower moving freight trains.

California’s finance applications focus on improvements to existing passenger rail lines, including the integration of high-speed rail with intercity passenger service.

The intercity passenger rail corridors in California are the busiest in the nation. With nearly 5.6 million annual passengers, California has more than 20 percent of all Amtrak riders and represents half of the total ridership on Amtrak’s state-supported intrastate and intercity services.