Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor Southeast States Legislative Program

Southeast States Legislative Program

In 1992, the US Department of Transportation designated Washington, DC- Richmond- Raleigh- Charlotte as a high speed corridor eligible for federal HSR planning funds. In late 1998, that designation was extended by USDOT from Raleigh through Columbia, SC and Savannah to Jacksonville, FL as well as from Charlotte through Greenville and Spartanburg, to Atlanta and Macon, to form the Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) corridor.

Because the designations were six years apart, the current rail funding needs of Virginia and North Carolina are markedly different from the needs of South Carolina and Georgia to plan and implement the SEHSR corridor.

Using a combination of federal and state funds, Virginia and North Carolina have completed more than 20 comprehensive studies in the last four years on the costs, benefits, and feasibility of implementing SEHSR service between Washington, DC, Richmond, Raleigh, and Charlotte. Virginia and North Carolina believe that essentially all the analyses necessary to qualify this segment of the SEHSR corridor for construction funding have been performed and the time has arrived to move toward developing a plan for implementation.

South Carolina and Georgia are in the initial stages of conducting detailed SEHSR feasibility analyses, developing construction cost estimates, and projecting SEHSR economic development impacts on their states. Additional funds are needed to support these efforts.

While the four Southeast states HSR funding needs are in different stages of development, they are united in their goal of creating a corridor of national significance that will link the Northeast and Southeast regions of the country and provide a modern, efficient, and affordable alternative to interstate highway and air travel.

As such, the four states have identified various legislative actions needed to further the objectives and funding needs of the SEHSR. What follows is the legislative program of the Southeast states coalition.

The four Southeast states request that

CONGRESS FULLY FUND SECTION 7201 OF TEA-21 AND PROVIDE SUCH FUNDS FOR SEHSR CORRIDOR PLANNING AND PRECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.

The four states endorse the recent report by the National Governors Association that stated, "The governors urge Congress to fully fund Section 7201 of TEA-21, which authorizes $35 million in planning and technology funding to develop and improve the life of high speed rail corridors. The high speed rail provisions of TEA-21 extended the ability of Congress to provide funding for the existing high speed rail assistance program created in the Swift Rail Development Act of 1994. These funds provide financial assistance to public agencies for high speed corridor planning activities and certain pre-construction activities, including right-of-way acquisition. Further, as states continue to assume a greater role in developing and maintaining passenger and commuter rail corridors, they should be afforded the maximum amount of flexibility to invest federal funds in rail corridors that relieve congestion in heavily traveled corridors or that contribute to air quality improvements in nonattainment areas."

Section 7201 funds would be used by the four state coalition to, among other things, acquire certain rail rights-of-way necessary for SEHSR implementation, extend the current EIS analysis and rail signalization study to include SEHSR segments in Georgia and South Carolina, and fund essential preconstruction feasibility studies.

The four Southeast states request that

CONGRESS PROVIDE $20.25 MILLION IN CONTRACT AUTHORITY UNDER SECTION 1103(C) OF TEA-21 FOR GRADE CROSSING SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AND PROVIDE SUCH FUNDS FOR SEHSR HAZARD ELIMINATION PROGRAMS.

The four states concur with the recent report by the National Governors Association, which stated, "The governors support full funding for the mitigation of grade crossing hazards under TEA-21. Technology has greatly reduced the potential of collisions between trains, but more progress can be made by addressing the issue of rail grade crossings. Proven educational efforts, such as Operation Lifesaver, along with technological advances and better planning, will play a key role in addressing this threat."

"The governors strongly believe that the authority for grade crossing improvements, closures, grade separations, and rail line relocation lies under the jurisdiction of the state. Adequate funding for applicable federal programs will assist states in addressing rail grade crossing safety improvement."

Section 1103(c) funds would be used by the four Southeast states to accelerate state programs to enhance SEHSR grade crossing safety through upgrading of warning devices and related track circuitry, consolidation or elimination of redundant and unsafe highway crossings, construction of grade separations, feasibility studies, and linking of warning devices with advanced train control systems.

The four Southeast states request that

CONGRESS GRANT STATES THE FLEXIBILITY TO USE TEA-21 FUNDS FOR HIGH SPEED RAIL DEVELOPMENT.

Authority to use TEA-21 funds for development of high priority rail corridors would permit the Southeast states the flexibility to begin the necessary rail line acquisition, infrastructure upgrades, capacity enhancements, and facility improvements necessary to support the implementation of SEHSR service.

The four Southeast states believe that federal funding is both appropriate and essential for regional transportation projects that are national in their impact and importance. The four Southeast states believe that SEHSR would be an exceptional candidate project for federal funding since SEHSR would facilitate national economic growth through improved movement of people and goods, would address capacity constraints that hamper the movement of people and goods between states and metropolitan areas, and would greatly assist in alleviating the capacity limitations of the existing transportation infrastructure, producing a measurable time savings in major transportation markets.

The states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia are committed as a four-state coalition to plan, develop, and implement the Southeast High Speed Rail corridor, which will generate immense benefits, not only in travel convenience and reliability, but also in economic development and employment creation for the Southeast region. We invite our Congressional representatives to join with us in this historic endeavor.