A new rail alternative for downtown Raleigh has emerged from public comments related to the Southeast High-Speed Rail corridor, according to North Carolina transportation officials.
The proposed corridor consists of 162 miles of higher-speed passenger rail service from North Carolina to Richmond, Va., where it would link to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor on to Washington and Boston.
The alternative for Raleigh was presented Tuesday in an environmental study hearing.
The new proposal aims to minimize the impact on downtown Raleigh and freight operations.
The Southeast project is one of five high-speed passenger rail corridors designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1992.
The cost for developing the corridor are estimated at $2.6 to $7.5 billion. If funding is made available, the project could be implemented between 2018 and 2022.
