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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SilentZ who wrote (472492)	4/16/2009 8:06:40 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1575535

NE rail routes compete for federal dollars for high-speed rail Posted by jowilliams April 16, 2009 05:58 PM WASHINGTON -- Three New England rail corridors are eligible to receive billion of dollars for high-speed rail under a set of preliminary guidelines the Obama administration unveiled today. But the proposed high-speed routes, which would connect Boston to Montreal, Albany, N.Y., and Portland, Maine, will likely face stiff competition from California and a coalition of Midwestern states who want the funds for their own corridors. Both regions are further along than New England in planning for high-speed rail and are thought to be frontrunners for much of the funding. President Obama, who touted high-speed rail's economic and environmental benefits in a speech this morning, hopes to make expanding the nation's passenger rail network one of his signature issues. The economic stimulus package he signed in February included $8 billion for upgrades to fast trains, and the administration has also asked for another $1 billion annually for the next five years. "High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways," Obama said. A total of ten rail corridors were designated as potential recipients in today's announcement. States or groups of states can apply for the funding beginning in June, but the Department of Transportation will not start awarding grants for planning and construction until this summer. "Ultimately, this is a competition. This was the kick-off today," said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. The Northeast Corridor, the nation's only high-speed route, is also eligible to receive funding. The president described the $8 billion as a down payment for a national high-speed rail network, which would cost many billions more to complete. For instance, a planned route linking northern and southern California would cost an estimated $40 billion; voters there approved $9 billion toward for the project in a November referendum. "Clearly, there are some projects that are further ahead," said Anne Canby, the president of the president of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, a group in Washington that advocates intercity rail expansion. Separately, Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry announced yesterday that he would soon introduce legislation allowing the government to sell tax-exempt bonds to finance high-speed rail. All of the New England lines would face significant obstacles. Only the route between Boston and Portland currently has regular corridor service, Amtrak's Downeaster. The high-speed line envisioned between Boston and Montreal calls for rebuilding 57 miles of abandoned rail corridor in New Hampshire, according to a 2003 engineering study. Between Boston and Albany, most of the corridor is owned by CSX, a private freight rail company that has been reluctant to accommodate more passenger trains on its rails. Currently, Amtrak runs five round-trip trains between Boston and Portland and one round-trip daily between Boston and Albany. The last passenger train connecting Boston and Montreal departed in 1965. boston.com