The national effort to construct more high-speed rail lines will help to create jobs in Durham NC and throughout the state.
Gov. Bev Perdue recently announced that North Carolina will receive $545 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to further develop the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. The project is expected to help create or maintain 4,800 private sector jobs throughout the state, as well as provide environmental and energy benefits through reduced congestion and improved air quality.
"Building this high-speed rail corridor will put our people to work on critical infrastructure projects and boost local economies in North Carolina," Perdue said. "This is a huge leap toward making high-speed rail in North Carolina a reality."
The newly-renovated Durham train station will serve as an addition to the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. That route, which will be nearly 500 miles, will allow trains to travel between Charlotte and Washington, D.C., at an average speed of 86 mph.
"Every dollar we spend on high speed rail is an investment in job creation and in cleaning the air we all breathe," Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said. "Building high speed rail will put people in North Carolina to work right away, lay the foundation for long term growth and make travel faster and cheaper - all while reducing our impact on the environment."
The U.S. Department of Transportation designated the Charlotte to Washington, D.C., route as a high-speed rail corridor in 1992. Since then, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has invested more than $300 million in the state's intercity passenger rail service for renovation and construction of train stations, track work improvements and corridor preservation projects.
