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Pennsylvania, Ohio seek billions in federal stimulus money
Jul 17, 2009 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Two states are seeking billions in federal stimulus money to link Pittsburgh to cities with high-speed rail service, officials said Thursday.
The Federal Railroad Administration released a list of states that submitted "pre-applications" for $8 billion set aside in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to plan and build high-speed rail connections between cities. The list has 278 applications worth $102 billion.
PennDOT spokeswoman Erin Waters said Pennsylvania identified four projects worth a total of $6.8 billion for further consideration:
--Up to $5.25 billion to design and build a magnetically levitating high-speed train between Pittsburgh International Airport and Greensburg;
--$1.18 billion to upgrade high-speed rail service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia;
--$551 million to rebuild tracks and establish part of a passenger line between Scranton and Hoboken, N.J., which could eventually connect to Penn Station in New York;
--$1.5 million to conduct a feasibility and business plan study of high-speed rail service between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.
Although trains run up to 110 mph along electrified track between Harrisburg and Philadelphia, only two trains per day run at regular speeds between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, along rails shared with freight traffic.
Ohio applied for a total of $5.8 billion in federal grants, including $17 million for the preliminary environmental study of high-speed rail across Ohio. That would include Pittsburgh-to-Cleveland and Pittsburgh-to-Columbus lines, said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the Ohio Rail Development Commission.
Nicholson said the economic benefits of connecting Ohio to Pittsburgh would be maximized only if Pittsburgh were connected to Harrisburg and points east.
"The two are complementary, to say the least," he said.
The most recent study of service along the corridor between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg concluded in 2005 that additional track work and infrastructure would be needed to avoid delaying freight traffic if trains are added.
The Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project is awaiting completion of a $6.9 million environmental impact statement, which is expected to be released for public review by late September or early October.
Port Authority of Allegheny County, which is administering the federal money for the maglev project, authorized a three-month extension of the study because it took so long to complete and must be double-checked for changes that might have occurred in the three years since a first draft was released.
Agencies have until Aug. 24 to work with the Railroad Administration to fine-tune applications and choose projects to submit for final applications, said spokesman Rob Kulat. The administration is expected to announce grants in fall, Kulat said.
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go to http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/. Copyright (c) 2009, The
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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