A Four State Vision

The Southeast increasingly lives in a world framed by congested interstate highways and an overburdened airport and airway infrastructure. Improvements and alternate travel choices are clearly needed. Rail passenger service can become an important part of the solution.

    • Between Washington and Richmond, VA I-95 traffic levels exceed that highway's design capacity not just during peak hours, but throughout the day. So onerous and notorious has this stretch of highway become that it discourages discretionary travel far beyond its congested sections. 
    • On I-85, which links Southeast population centers from Durham and Charlotte to Greenville-Spartanburg and Atlanta, daily traffic levels regularly exceed the highway's design capacity, causing delays and unreliable transit times. 
    • In the ten years from 1986 to 1996, traffic on I-85 increased 68 percent, on I-95 traffic increased 40 percent, and on I-75 (which links Macon and Atlanta) traffic increased 45 percent. 
    • Highway related travel delays are costing the Southeast millions of dollars in lost productivity. Yet adding traffic lanes to existing interstates in many cases is becoming cost prohibitive due to urban development that has enveloped many interstate stretches. 
    • The Southeast states are concerned about the deteriorating air quality in the urbanized areas of the region. Implementation of the SEHSR will assist the states in maintaining the region's air quality by providing an environmentally friendly travel option. 
    • Implementation of the Southeast High Speed Rail corridor can provide a viable alternative to the Southeast's crowded interstates at an affordable cost. Construction of the SEHSR will permit maximum rail speeds of 110 mph at approximately one-third the cost of building an average interstate highway mile and one-tenth the cost per mile of constructing new urban beltways.

TV Flight Delays

    • Four years from now, in 2003, the above major East Coast airports which link the Northeast and Southeast are estimated to generate 20,000 annual hours of flight delays. Time sensitive business and leisure travelers are increasingly spending more time in departure lounges waiting for delayed flights than actually traveling to their destinations. 
    • Where the Northeast and Southeast airport delays are projected to be the greatest, construction of the SEHSR will provide a reliable, comfortable, affordable travel alternative.

     

MOST POPULAR AIR DESTINATIONS*

From Atlanta

From Raleigh - Durham

From Richmond

1. New York

1. Atlanta

1. Atlanta

2. Chicago

2. New York

2. New York

3. Washington, DC

3. Chicago

3. Chicago

4. Dallas/Ft. Worth

4. Dallas/Ft. Worth

4. Orlando

5. Philadelphia

5. Newark

5. Dallas

6. Orlando

6. Boston

6. Newark

7. Boston

7. Philadelphia

7. Philadelphia

8. Tampa

8. Washington, DC

8. Charlotte
Legend

 

    • SEHSR implementation would also reduce the demand for short haul air service between the Northeast and Southeast, freeing up landing slots at major airport hubs, and permitting a more balanced service pattern to and from regional airports such as Richmond, Columbia, Charleston, Greenville-Spartanburg, and Savannah. 
    • Airports are generally located far from a community's commercial core. Rail terminals by contrast traditionally have been sited at a city's center of activity. Implementing SEHSR can assist in revitalizing downtowns, providing a renewed focus of commercial and cultural life in the region's traditional centers, and maintaining the strong sense of place that characterizes the Southeast. 
    • SEHSR will link those cities and communities in the Southeast and the Northeast where highway and airline travel volumes are the greatest, providing a much needed travel alternative to the region and helping ease the congestion on present transportation facilities. 
    • By providing fast, frequent, and cost-effective travel to and through the Southeast, SEHSR will allow cities to attract and keep businesses, spurring economic growth and employment opportunities. 
    • SEHSR will have an enormous positive economic impact on the region. In North Carolina alone, SEHSR construction and operation is projected to create: 
      • $700 million in new tax revenues, 
      • Approximately $10.5 billion in employee wages over 20 years, 
      • Over 31,400 new one-year jobs from SEHSR's construction, 
      • Over 800 permanent new railroad operating positions, and 
      • Nearly 19,000 permanent full-time jobs from businesses which choose to locate or expand in the state as a result of SEHSR's creation.