Chronology of Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor

Destination and Extensions

Since December 18, 1991, eleven high speed rail corridors have been authorized. Five corridors were authorized under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and six were authorized under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). To date the Department of Transportation has designated ten of these corridors and numerous corridor extensions. Some of the designations were specifically mandated by Congress. The corridor designations and extensions (including a clarification of the California corridor) are listed below in chronological order from the initiation of the program on December 18, 1991 to the latest extension approved on December 4, 2004. No changes have been made since that date.

• December 18, 1991. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) (PL 102-240) becomes law. Section 1010 calls for selection of not more than five corridors to be designated as high-speed rail corridors.
• October 20, 1992. Secretary of Transportation Andrew H. Card Jr. announces designation of the Southeast high-speed rail corridor connecting Charlotte, NC, Richmond, VA, and Washington, DC.
• December 14, 1995. FRA Administrator Jolene Molitoris extends the Southeast corridor from Richmond, VA to Hampton Roads, VA.
• June 9, 1998. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (PL 105-178) becomes law. Section 1103 (c) authorizes six additional corridor designations.
• December 1, 1998. In Charlotte , NC , Secretary Slater announces the extension of the Southeast corridor from Charlotte to Greenville , SC to Atlanta , GA to Macon ; and from Raleigh to Columbia, SC and to Savannah , GA and Jacksonville , FL.
• October 11, 2000. Secretary Slater designates two new high-speed rail corridors for a total of ten and approves the extension of four corridors
  • Newly designated corridors:
    • Northern New England corridor, linking a hub in Boston with (a) Portland/Auburn, Maine and (b) Montreal, P.Q., via New Hampshire and Vermont; and
    • South Central corridor linking Dallas/Ft. Worth with (a) Austin and San Antonio, Texas; (b) Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; and (c) Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas.
  • Approved extensions:
    • Southeast corridor from Macon to Jesup, GA;
    • Gulf Coast corridor from Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA (joining the Southeast and Gulf Coast corridors);
    • Keystone corridor from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, PA;
    • Chicago Hub corridor

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Source: FRA