Just wondering: If the General Assembly weren’t making noises about rejecting more federal funds for improved rail service, would Washington have been more generous in its latest allotment?
After all, Gov. Beverly Perdue’s administration was seeking $624 million to boost North Carolina’s part of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. It wound up with $4 million. We can imagine how proud those rail skeptics in the legislature – Republicans who don’t want Democrats such as Perdue or President Obama to get credit for much of anything – must be. They might have protected the state from being showered with $620 million, which would allow scads of people to be hired and help give travelers another attractive option! Nice work, guys!
The money we didn’t get was part of a $2.4 billion pot for high speed rail that was supposed to go to Florida. But that state’s Republican governor turned it down. Other states swooped in to try to take advantage of the Florida foolishness.
California scored big, for a high speed project ultimately to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Chicago, a vital rail hub, will get better connections, and the heavily used Northeast Corridor will benefit from improvements that could allow trains to reach 160 mph.
North Carolina, meanwhile, chugs along with plans to upgrade the spine of its rail system between Raleigh and Charlotte, aiding passenger and freight service alike. That’s well and good.
But there’s no reason for the state to back away from its plans for the high speed rail corridor, which would extend north from Raleigh. The $4 million would allow preliminary work to continue on a Raleigh-to-Richmond leg that would give North Carolina a better connection to the northeastern rail network.
It’s by no means a pipe dream that many more Tar Heel travelers in years hence will find the train to be a competitive travel option en route to cities such as Washington, Philadelphia or New York. The Obama team properly has made better rail service a national priority, and Perdue’s state DOT is on board where it belongs. The next time Washington doles out rail funds, everyone in North Carolina – of whatever partisan stripe – should be eager to take yes for an answer.
Published Fri, May 13, 2011 02:00 AM
Modified Fri, May 13, 2011 04:24 AM
