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A Four State Progress Report
Each of the four Southeast states has developed its own intrastate rail programs and transportation priorities. Among the highest priorities for Georgia are connecting Macon and Atlanta by rail and improving rail passenger service between Savannah and Jacksonville, FL. In South Carolina, near term rail objectives include preserving abandoned or threatened rights-of-way that could be used for future rail passenger service, providing greater protection at existing grade crossings, and planning additional grade separated crossings, as well as evaluating the feasibility of commuter rail service connecting such communities as Greenville and Spartanburg, Columbia, Newberry and Winnsboro, Rock Hill and Charlotte, NC. North Carolina's rail efforts are focused on enhancing rail passenger service on the state-owned North Carolina Railroad between Raleigh and Charlotte by making infrastructure improvements to reduce travel times. In Virginia, the state is progressing a multi-year capital improvement program to reduce Washington, DC - Richmond rail travel times for the 100 mile trip from 120 minutes to 90 minutes. Georgia Georgia has developed a passenger rail plan which will provide 110 mph intercity service on seven corridors as well as rail commuter service on six corridors. The 1995 and 1997 Commuter Rail Studies and the Intercity Passenger Rail Study of 1997 call for build out of the commuter and intercity corridors over 12 years with an investment of $1.5 billion. The designated Southeast High Speed Rail segments within Georgia are included in the first phase of the state's rail implementation plan. The State Transportation Board has instructed the Department of Transportation to identify Federal funds which could be flexed in support of the rail program. Currently in excess of $100 million worth of projects dedicated to passenger rail development are included in the three year State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP). For FY 2000, the Georgia General Assembly has provided over $7.5 million in state funds for rail acquisition, rehabilitation, and enhancement of rail connectivity in downtown Atlanta, an Atlanta area rail capacity study and evaluation of potential new corridors. TEA-21 authorized $29.3 million for design and construction of the Atlanta - Macon corridor and also designated the corridor segment from Atlanta to Griffin as an FTA "new start." In Georgia's current State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), $45 million is programmed for the Atlanta - Macon corridor to complete the rail infrastructure evaluation and begin final design and construction for the reintroduction of rail passenger service. The Department has also applied for a Section 1103 (c) grade crossing hazard elimination grant for the Atlanta to Macon and the Savannah to Jacksonville SEHSR segments. The Multi Modal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) to be built near Five Points in downtown Atlanta will be the major Atlanta terminal for intercity and commuter rail services, and will provide facilities for AMTRAK, connections to MARTA rail and bus services and facilities for intrastate bus service. The cost of the MMPT, which includes acquisition of key rail links, is $195 million at build out. The first phase sufficient for several lines would cost $55 million including track improvements. The second and third phase to accommodate all services in the rail passenger program would cost an additional $135 million. The project, in the heart of commercial downtown Atlanta, is a prime candidate for private sector participation in a private/public funding arrangement to be developed. Numerous other studies are underway to identify additional corridors which could be added to the passenger rail program. These include the study of a Marietta - Lawrenceville light rail corridor, the Canton/Cartersville - Atlanta corridor, and the Atlanta - Chattanooga corridor. The Georgia Department of Transportation has designated the Atlanta Regional Commission as the entity to take the lead on the behalf of the states of Tennessee and Georgia to apply for federal preconstruction planning assistance for a magnetic levitation (mag/lev) transportation demonstration project between Atlanta and Chattanooga. South Carolina The South Carolina Transportation Commission in December 1998, approved $500,000 in state funds to supplement local planning funds to conduct rail passenger feasibility studies throughout the state and purchase abandoned railroad right-of-way. Rail feasibility studies under consideration, scheduled or underway include Greenville to Spartanburg, Newberry and Winnsboro to Columbia, Rock Hill to Charlotte, NC and access to Myrtle Beach. The Commission, on April 30, 1999, passed a resolution in support of SEHSR and expressed its desire to include passenger rail access to South Carolina coastal areas such as Myrtle Beach and Charleston. Additionally, South Carolina is examining the feasibility of providing rail service between Columbia and Charlotte. In the past 10 years, South Carolina has spent $5.9 million on the SEHSR segments in South Carolina to upgrade grade crossing protection systems. In addition, the state has applied for $200,000 in Section 1103(c) hazard elimination funds to determine what further grade crossing improvements are needed and the costs for possible grade separations, crossing consolidations and closures. The South Carolina Passenger Plan of 1997 noted that approximately 744 miles of rail lines have been abandoned since the 1970's. Greenville County has recently acquired three rail abandonment candidate lines. The RailTex Company had proposed abandoning these rail line segments in and adjacent to the City of Greenville, which are essential for future passenger service into downtown Greenville. South Carolina additionally has requested a progress update from the Federal Railroad Administration of the two year high speed rail study, funded by TEA 21, for Atlanta - Charleston.
In 1998, North Carolina, as part of its ongoing Traffic Separation Studies, for which there is currently $2.75 million available in Section #130 funds for improvements, evaluated 39 grade crossings along the SEHSR between Salisbury and Charlotte. In December, the state signed agreements with five communities to eliminate, consolidate, grade separate or improve grade crossing protection systems in their jurisdictions. Also in 1998, North Carolina received a $2 million federal grant to extend its "Sealed Corridor" program, which upgrades heavily used highway crossings with such improvements as four-quadrant gates and median barriers, from Greensboro to just west of Durham. North Carolina has completed its $71 million purchase of the North Carolina Railroad which owns the Raleigh to Charlotte section of the SEHSR. The state is in active negotiations with CSXT to purchase the CSX line northward from Raleigh to the Virginia state line for use by SEHSR trains enroute to Richmond. A Congestion Mitigation Study is underway to determine what capital improvements are necessary along the 172 mile Raleigh to Charlotte line segment to reduce the present running times for passenger trains from three hours forty-five minutes to two hours fifty minutes, while providing capacity for future business growth by Norfolk Southern, the line's freight operator. In order to prepare the Virginia and North Carolina segments of the SEHSR for service implementation, North Carolina has begun the necessary multiyear Environmental Impact Study (EIS) work from Charlotte through Raleigh and Richmond to Washington, DC.
Both Virginia and the City of Richmond are completing plans to restore train service to the historic Main Street Station in downtown Richmond as part of multi-modal facility incorporating intercity bus, local transit, taxis and airport limousines. The station is a critical element in improved SEHSR passenger service as it will provide a modern, efficient facility in Richmond with convenient access to nearby state government offices, cultural attractions and Richmond's main business district. Reconstruction is scheduled to begin in 2000. The Commonwealth has been working with Virginia Railway Express, CSX Corporation, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and the Federal Railroad Administration to develop a package of improvements to accommodate the increase in rail traffic projected for Richmond to Washington. The corridor boundaries have been extended to Landover, Maryland to incorporate CSX freight enhancements that will significantly reduce passenger and freight rail congestion in Washington, DC. More than $770 million in needed capital improvements has been identified, with approximately $210 million in funds committed or programmed for projects planned by CSX, NS, VRE and Virginia. This improvement package is being developed so that the Richmond - Washington segment of the SEHSR may qualify for innovative funding techniques made available through TEA-21. It is anticipated that the credit assistance provided through federal programs, combined with the private investments of CSX and Norfolk Southern, as well as state and local funds committed to the corridor, will leverage a package of federal grants and private financing that will enable these significant Richmond - Washington infrastructure improvements to move forward. The Southeast states are not waiting for the future to arrive. The four states are committing their resources now to near and long term rail improvements, renovating transportation facilities, raising speed limits on improved track segments, purchasing state-of-the-art locomotives, evaluating train communication systems, embarking on comprehensive environmental analyses, and purchasing needed SEHSR line segments. Year by year, increment by increment, the four state coalition is assembling the SEHSR, making it a corridor of national significance. |
