North Carolina will receive 4 million dollars of the 2.4 billion dollars in federal money Florida declined for high speed rail projects. The Department of Transportation will use the money for an environmental impact study of a potential high speed rail line between Raleigh and Richmond. DOT spokeswoman Greer Beaty says this is something people should be excited about.
Greer Beaty: "We’ve been very aggressive in applying for funds for as many projects as we can possibly apply for. You know, you certainly can’t get it if you don’t ask for it. This money became available so we applied for as much of it as we possibly could."
North Carolina’s section of the rail line would cost around 2 billion dollars and cut travel time between Raleigh and Washington D.C. by two hours. The state received 545 million dollars from the federal government in February for safety improvements along various rail lines.