With the Administration’s continued focus on high-speed rail development, states have been benefiting from infusions of federal investment to upgrade their rail networks. Unfortunately for their states’ residents, some governors have put the brakes on high speed rail projects. Fortunately for Delaware, Senator Coons and Senator Carper have been urging the federal Department of Transportation to redirect funding from states that refuse it to those that embrace it.
For well over a century, Delaware has relied on rail transportation to bring its goods to market and transport people in and out of the state. The Wilmington train station, housed in a historic building from the early twentieth century, served over 696,000 travelers last year, making it the 12th busiest in the Amtrak system. As Delaware continues to develop a vibrant innovation-based and advanced manufacturing economy, rail will continue to be important as commuters move throughout the Delaware Valley and new products are exported out of state.
In February, Florida’s Republican Governor, Rick Scott, astoundingly rejected $2.4 billion that in federal funding had been allocated for high speed rail in his state. In response, Chris joined Senator Carper and other senators from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts to ask Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to send those funds to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor instead.
“In addition to reducing congestion on our roads,” Chris said, “high-speed rail makes the cities and states it serves more appealing to businesses looking to open new facilities and put more people to work. If Florida isn’t interested in this funding, I’m certain that it can be put to good use up here in Delaware.”
In a statement to the press on March 4, after the Florida Supreme Court upheld Governor Scott’s decision to decline federal rail funding, Chris explained how redirecting this money could benefit Delaware:
“There are a number of important projects in the Northeast Corridor and right here in Delaware that could benefit millions of Americans. Projects like the construction of a new train station in Newark, or a third track connecting Wilmington and Newark to extend SEPTA’s reach and ease congestion for Amtrak. We would welcome this funding and could quickly and effectively put it to good use expanding and improving our high-speed rail service. Not only would this create good paying jobs, but it would help ease congestion on our already crowded roads and highways, and reduce harmful air pollution.”
To learn more about the Administration’s plans for national high-speed rail development and how Delaware is already ahead of the game, click here.