Virginia gets in line for high-speed rail funding
Virginia is taking a step today toward seizing a golden opportunity to develop high-speed rail through Richmond and other parts of the state.
The state is expected to file a preliminary application today for more than $1.5 billion in federal stimulus money to develop high-speed rail corridors in both directions from Richmond -- to Washington and the Northeast, and to North Carolina and the Southeast.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine would not release the details of the state's preliminary application yesterday, but spokesman Gordon Hickey said, "The governor feels very strongly about high-speed rail through Virginia. It's a high priority item for him."
Virginia is not expected to compete heavily for the initial round of high-speed rail funding because the state doesn't have many projects ready to go in a short time frame, according to Daniel L. Plaugher, executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail.
However, the Richmond region stands to benefit greatly from the second round of applications, due Oct. 2, for developing high-speed rail corridors, according to former Richmond City Council President William J. Pantele, who is vice president and general counsel of the nonprofit advocacy group.
"The high-speed rail opportunity is the best . . . most important opportunity that this region will see in many, many years," Pantele said yesterday. "There's a good measure of feasibility now that we haven't had in previous years. There's money behind it."
The opportunity is offered through two major federal initiatives: the stimulus package, known as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act, which is critical for federal funds to support all state transportation projects.
The stimulus bill includes $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, while an initial proposal for the surface transportation bill would reserve $50 billion for developing high-speed rail systems, Plaugher told the Greater Richmond Chamber at a breakfast meeting yesterday at Willow Oaks Country Club in South Richmond.
The first step is meeting today's deadline for a preliminary application outlining the state proposal. "Anything that's not in the pre-application will not get funded, so it's a huge deadline," Plaugher said.
Virginia's proposed $1.51 billion plan includes $491 million in improvements around Richmond's Acca rail yard as well as Main Street Station in the city's downtown. The improvements are necessary to remove bottlenecks that limit rail service to the renovated station, which Plaugher said is the most likely place for trains from Washington to lay over until the return trip north.
The GRTC Transit System proposes to use the second floor of the Main Street Station train shed for a bus-transfer station. Plaugher said Amtrak is studying whether the proposal would be compatible with plans for high-speed rail at the same structure.
GRTC President and CEO John M. Lewis Jr. said yesterday that the proposed transfer center "absolutely can co-exist with high-speed rail."
Other parts of the state's proposal include:
- $185 million to add a third rail track between Richmond and Fredericksburg;
- $152 million to improve conventional rail service between Main Street Station and Petersburg; and
- $195 million to upgrade the rail corridor between Richmond and Washington to allow high-speed trains that could cut the trip to 90 minutes on a reliable basis.
Kim Scheeler, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Chamber, said his organization is working to build support for the state's proposal.
"It really is the kind of thing that can be transformational for this community," Scheeler said.
Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or
.
Staff writer Will Jones contributed to this report.
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Reader Reactions
I agree. The primary users of a “high speed” rail system to DC are not going to ride a bus (or drive a car) downtown to Main Street Station to board it. I don’t know whether true high speed rail will ever work in this county. I’d like to think so, but I fear we are already past the point where true high speed infrastructure can be put in at a low enough cost to make it feasible financially.
Somebody better define what ‘high speed rail’ really is. A 90 minute trip between Richmond and Washington is never going to take enough cars off of I-95 to do any good for the rest of the world that will continue to drive that parking lot where everything is moving at 80 mph.
Unless the U.S. and states come up with a plan to build a system like the French did with their TGV and have a strategy to reduce and eliminate most if not all intra-country air travel then we are wasting our time and money.
The U.S. is to spread out and population centers are to far apart to have a national system like the TGV but it could be done on a regional basis. Say from the Tidewater region, thru Richmond and on to the northeast.
Go on Google Earth and center in on Lyon, France. As you decend down from about 10,000 miles in altitude you’ll begin to notice very large scars that are in very straight lines with very shallow curves extending northwest and southeast from Lyon. Go down to about 5,000’ and follow those lines and see really how they did it.
While the scars are there, they did a beautiful job assuring that their system could truly be a “high-speed” train network that people will ride.
Now think about something like that coming from Norfolk, in a tunnel under Hampton-Roads, thru Newport News/Hampton jumping up and over the eastbound lanes of I-64 and down into the median and then all the way to Richmond with a station in Highland Springs near I-295 around to I-95 and all the way to Washington.
At truly high speeds of 250mph, the trip from Norfolk to Richmond with a stop in Newport News/Hampton/Williamsburg, you’re talking - 35 minutes. The trip from Richmond to Washington with a stop in Fredericksburg - what - 45 minutes.
Now, I don’t care if it costs $5 billion to build - that would be worth me giving up my car and riding the train.
“The simplest definition of engineering is to do the best possible job for the least amount of money.“
Spending $1.5 Billion on patch work to fix up a system that is never going to work is a politicians way to make people think that they are doing something. And Main Street Station - what a joke. Trains can not “stay over” at Main Street Station. Fulton Yard is empty - use that if you have to. I can see the people from Short Pump now riding a GRTC bus down to Main Street Station to catch a train that is going to take them 1 hour and 30 minutes to ride to Washington now.
What a joke.
Do it right the first time and save billions. Heck, go underground if you have to but do it right. Everybody is worried about our grandchildren and how much they are going to have to put out in tax money - do it now and they’ll love you for it.
Now - get 1,000,000 trucks off of I-95.
Let’s see that 1,000,000 trucks a year and CSX says that they can remove 120 trucks off of the road with each train.
So that’s works into 8,333 trains a year or approximately 23 a day or I’m assuming 12 in each direction. Get the passenger and commuter trains on dedicated rail and you could do that.
Set up truck tolls for thru trucks on I-95 and provide a road/rail transfer point south of Petersburg - the cost to put the trailers and containers on rail would reduce congestion and maintenance costs enough to provide free transit for freight between central Virginia and the northeast.
The millions of gallons of fuel that would be saved would be unreal.
Our politicians are not thinking beyond the next election. Somebody better step up and be a champion for what really needs to be done.
It takes guts to be a leader - every politician is gutless. Our governor could take the lead - he doesn’t have to run for re-election. The way Washington can re-write history and the news media falls into line with it as if it is fact - no one will remember anyway.
After all, I can get on a train in London and ride all the way to Paris without ever having to go thru an airport security line in just over 2 hours. If they did it we can do it.
Start writing history now.
The taxpayers of Virginia have spent $130 million on CSX’s track between Richmond and Washington in the past and then CSX only allowed the addition of one pair of passenger trains.
Now the Chamber of Commerce wants the taxpayers to ante up $532 million more in improvements to CSX’s track and how many more passenger trains will CSX allow?
And how many times do we have to read in their agreements or see in their presentations that CSX will not allow any passenger trains on their tracks to run any faster than 90 mph? So how is this “high speed” thing really going to work.
When will the politicians start demanding accountability from their own bureaucrats before spending public money without iron clad guarantees of substantial public benefit up front. Or is theory with no substance all we can ever expect for the debt load we continue to incur at the hands of these corporate welfare types.
If you are going to give CSX $532 million then why don’t you demand that they take 1,000,000 additional trucks off I-95 annually between Petersburg, Richmond and Washington, also. For a change, actually get something in return for public money.
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