Deal in NC frees federal dollars for rail project

North Carolina will receive $461 million in federal funds to increase the speed of the railway between Charlotte and Raleigh, according to a report.

The money was approved after the state reached an agreement with a freight train company, the Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.

North Carolina had originally been awarded $585 million for increasing the speed of Amtrak trains to 90 miles per hour. The train is envisioned to eventually connect with a railway that runs through Richmond, Va., and culminates in Washington, D.C., where passengers could connect to northeastern rail routes.  

The plan was held up by a disagreement with Norfolk Southern Railway, whose tracks the trains on run on. The company controls the switches on the railway, and U.S. transportation officials wanted guarantees the trains would not just run faster, but have less delays.

But this week, a deal was reached that satisfied the Department of Transportation, the Charlotte newspaper reported.
 
"This will significantly improve our passenger service and also, I believe, have benefits for the movement of freight through that corridor," North Carolina Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said.

North Carolina business leaders lauded the agreement as well.

"We're anxious to see these improvements, and certainly to see them shorten the travel time between Raleigh and Charlotte," Charlotte Chamber of Commerce senior vice president Natalie English told the Observer. "Train service has picked up, and we think the shorter that service is, the more it will pick up."

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, has caught flak from Republicans in the state for supporting high-speed rail. The North Carolina GOP has encouraged her to give the money back as Republicans in Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida have done.

North Carolina received the second highest rail award from the federal economic stimulus, trailing only Florida's since-rejected $2.4 billion.