If you’re hot for high-speed rail through the Carolinas, then pay attention Wednesday.
Charlotte will bat lead-off in a national high-speed rail vision road show – a series of workshops in seven U.S. cities put on by the Federal Railroad Administration.
The workshop – the only one to be held for the Southeast Corridor – will be 1-4:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Charlotte Suites Hotel, 2800 Coliseum Centre Dr. (off the Billy Graham Parkway).
If you’ll remember, President Obama has offered up $8 billion in grants for high-speed rail corridors, intercity passenger rail and congestion grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, as a pirates would say). Competition is likely to be fierce. Last month I heard Xavier de Sousa Briggs, associate director of the Office of Management and Budget, talk about what would give regions a leg up in competing. He said regions that can demonstrate solid regional cooperation will have an advantage.
N.C. rail insiders suggest it’s not coincidence that Charlotte and the Southeast Corridor are first on the schedule. Folks from Atlanta are expected to attend. And let us hope our sister state to the South shows some interest, despite its governor’s dislike of stimulus money.
Here’s a link that will tell you more, including linking to the letter from FRA administrator Joseph C. Szabo. Szabo’s letter says the FRA seeks input “to provide us with your regional visiton of high-speed and intercity rail networks,” among other things.
If you want to attend you may RSVP here. And to submit comments for the public docket, click here. It’s Docket No. FRA-2009-0045 and the deadline for comments is June 5.