The First Year of the Recovery Act’s High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program

“We are not just doing a transportation project here. We are fully engaged in a game-changing national enterprise that enhances mobility, saves energy, reduces pollution, revives inner cities, creates jobs, and boosts the economy—helping to pull the nation, literally, out of recession.”

  -- Eugene Conti, Chair, AASHTO High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Leadership Group and Secretary, North Carolina Department of Transportation

On January 28, 2010, President Barack Obama announced the first of $8 billion in grants issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to plan, develop, and construct high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects in corridors across the country.

One year later and well ahead of schedule, state departments of transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the railroads are working aggressively to advance projects worth $4.3 billion that will enhance passenger travel in the United States.

This website and AASHTO's new report, States Ramping Up Action on Passenger Rail, look at the progress made in the last 12 months.