New "higher speed" rail project to link Richmond & Raleigh

Federal officials have been jump-starting rail improvements this week. The latest project, formally announced Friday, will cut travel time across Southside Virginia.

White House advisor Tom Perez admits the U. S. is playing catch up. "You travel to Europe, you travel to Asia and it is what everybody does. But frankly, we’ve been behind the rest of the world on rail travel," Perez said in an interview with Radio IQ.

A new investment of $1.1 billion will bring new higher-speed service between Richmond and Raleigh, North Carolina. Biden administration officials say the 162-mile long project will shorten the trip by about 90 minutes. Amtrak’s website says the current trip takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Perez didn’t offer a completion date. "It will obviously be a matter of years," he admitted. "We’re going to get to work right away. These projects require a significant amount of work.

But he says the funding announced Friday, along with other new projects in Northern Virginia and on the West Coast, show the commitment and resources are there. "This is really a once in a generation investment. Eisenhower was president the last time we were investing in infrastructure to this extent."

On Thursday, Governor Glenn Youngkin and members of Virginia's Congressional delegation celebrated the infusion of $729 million for rail projects to untangle choke points between Washington DC and Richmond. That work includes replacing the more than 110-year-old Long Bridge across the Potomac River with a structure that accommodates increased capacity. New track in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties will relieve other bottlenecks.

"This project’s impact on the Commonwealth cannot be overstated — it will ease congestion, make our supply chain more resilient, improve freight movement in and out of our world-class port, and boost local economies,” Youngkin said in a statement Thursday.

The Biden administration also announced new high-speed rail projects in California and Nevada on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation also handed Virginia $2 million in rail planning grants Friday.

Among the projects to be studied—extending passenger rail service to Bristol, creating a new east-west service linking Hampton Roads and the New River Valley, and increasing the frequency of the current route that serves Staunton and Clifton Forge.