"Delivering these funds is an important step forward in our efforts to upgrade and transform America's transportation system, while spurring economic activity and creating jobs here at home," said Vice President Joe Biden. "Our unprecedented investment in high-speed and intercity passenger rail is not only going to provide real environmental benefits and greater convenience for travelers, but also long-term economic development for communities across the country."
The $80 million in funding will benefit projects in many regions of the country, including:
•· $66,600,000 for program management and preliminary engineering on the planned rail service between Tampa and Orlando, Florida. The plans include construction of 84 miles of track, for stations to be built and enhanced, and for equipment to be purchased.
•· $6,200,000 for track relocation work in California on the Capitol Corridor which connects San Francisco and Sacramento, the state capital.
•· $5,700,000 for environmental assessments of planned new stations on the route between Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin.
•· $1,000,000 for planning projects to improve 468-mile Empire Corridor in New York state.
•· $100,000 for the creation of the first-ever rail plan for the state of New Mexico.
The majority of the President's Recovery Act passenger rail funding will go toward developing new, large-scale high-speed rail programs.
The Administration is also proposing a minimum $1 billion a year for five years in the federal budget to jump-start this multi-decade effort. Congress funded this program above and beyond the President's initial request and allocated $2.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2010.