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The Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR) or Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project to increase the frequency, reliability and speed of intercity rail services along multiple routes in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The primary segment spans approximately 448 mi from Washington, D.C. through Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh to Charlotte, North Carolina, largely paralleling Interstates 85 and 95. Additional segments on the corridor extend from Richmond to Virginia's Hampton Roads region; Charlotte to Atlanta; Atlanta to Macon, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida, and Raleigh to Jacksonville via Columbia, South Carolina and Savannah. Amtrak provides intercity rail service to most cities along the corridor (with the exception of Macon), using tracks primarily owned or operated by freight railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern. Virginia Railway Express (VRE) also provides commuter rail service between Washington D.C. and the suburbs of Northern Virginia. Slower freight train operations, as well as the typical maximum speed of 79 mph along these tracks are described as contributing to delays among passenger trains in the region and travel times not competitive with airlines or driving. The city of Washington D.C. and the states of Virginia and North Carolina will incrementally upgrade this segment to support top speeds between 90-110 mph, known as higher-speed rail, through improvements to existing railroad rights-of-way such as additional tracks, straightening curves and improving or eliminating grade-crossings with the goal of reducing trip times between Washington and Charlotte from 9.5 to 7.25 hours, at a cost of several billion dollars. The states of Virginia and North Carolina created an Interstate High-Speed Rail Compact Commission consisting of leaders from both states to review planning for the initial segment.

Projects over the additional segments of the corridor are in various stages of planning and environmental review undertaken by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the respective states. Despite the project name, the proposed train speeds of 90-110 mph over the Washington D.C.-Charlotte segment will not meet commonly-held international standards for high-speed rail, leading to the North Carolina Department of Transportation rebranding the project as the higher-speed "Southeast Corridor". However, other corridor segments are studying options comparable to international high-speed rail. Most Amtrak routes on the Southeast Corridor continue onto the existing high-speed Northeast Corridor between Washington D.C., New York City and Boston, reaching speeds of up to 125 mph.

History
Interest in high-speed rail services in the United States dates back to the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) called for designation of five federal high-speed rail corridors. On October 20, 1992, United States Secretary of Transportation Andrew Card announced the Charlotte to Washington D.C. Southeast Corridor (via Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina as one of the chosen corridors. A segment between Richmond and the Hampton Roads region of Virginia was added to the corridor in 1995; additional Charlotte-Greenville-Atlanta, Atlanta-Macon-Jacksonville and Raleigh-Columbia-Jacksonville segments were added in 1998 and 2000.

Deemed one of the most economically viable high-speed rail projects in the country, the states of North Carolina, Virginia and the federal government prepared a Tier I environmental impact statement for the Washington D.C.-Charlotte corridor, which was completed in 2002. The study suggested incrementally improving existing railroad rights-of-way and using conventional diesel-powered locomotives with top speeds of 110 mph (as opposed to constructing new rights-of-way or pursuing electrification and electric locomotives were relatively cheaper ways of improving intercity rail service that would minimize disruption to the environment and surrounding neighborhoods. By raising speeds along the corridor and reactivating the partially-abandoned CSX S Line (the former mainline of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad), travel times between Washington D.C. and Charlotte could be reduced from 10 hours to approximately 6 hours, 15 minutes, at a cost of roughly $3 billion. Additionally, the study proposed a spur from Greensboro station along the corridor to serve the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which lacks rail service. Following the first phase of study, the states of North Carolina and Virginia studied portions of the Washington D.C.-Charlotte corridor in greater detail. In 2002, higher-speed service on this segment was projected to begin in 2010, depending on availability of funding. By 2006, this projected date had slipped to 2012, and by 2010, to between 2018 and 2022. As of 2020, however, service on the Carolinian route between Washington and Charlotte, via Richmond and Raleigh, was still scheduled for nearly 10 hours.

Description
The Washington D.C.-to-Richmond segment begins at Washington Union Station. South of the station, all Amtrak and VRE trains using the Southeast Corridor between Washington D.C. and Virginia - including Amtrak's Northeast Regional trips to Virginia (with branches to Roanoke, Richmond Staples Mill Road station, Newport News, and Norfolk), the Carolinian, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Cardinal and Crescent, as well as VRE's Fredericksburg Line and Manassas Line pass through the First Street Tunnel before connecting to the CSX-owned RF&P Subdivision, which was previously the main line of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad. The line crosses the Potomac River on the Long Bridge into Virginia, passing through Alexandria. The two-tracked Long Bridge sees the most passenger traffic of any point in the Southeast, and lacks capacity for new services during peak hours, creating a bottleneck. At Alexandria, some Amtrak trains (including Northeast Regional trips to Roanoke, the Cardinal and Crescent), VRE's Manassas Line and Norfolk Southern freight trains branch off onto Norfolk Southern's Main Line. The remaining Amtrak and VRE services on the Southeast Corridor continue using the RF&P through Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, the terminus of VRE's Fredericksburg Line, reaching Richmond. Amtrak's Auto Train uses this segment, but makes no intermediate stops along its route between Lorton and Sanford. South of Richmond Staples Mill Road station, at CSX's Acca Yard, Amtrak trains branch onto two different CSX-owned lines. The A-line (the former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad) passes through the western side of Richmond, bypassing downtown; the S-line (the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad) passes directly through downtown Richmond, serving Main Street station; the two lines meet in Centralia, several miles south of Richmond, where the A-line continues south to Petersburg while the S-line is partially abandoned. Historically, most Amtrak trains in Richmond used the A-line; due to congestion on CSX's Bellwood Subdivision, service on the S-line, and to Main Street station, was limited to two Northeast Regional daily round trips that terminate at Newport News in the Hampton Roads region. , with a third Regional trip extended to Main Street in 2021. Staples Mill Road serves as the primary train station for the Greater Richmond Region and has the highest ridership of Amtrak stations in Virginia and the Southeast, despite being located outside the city limits in suburban Henrico County.

Infrastructure Improvements
USDOT and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DPRT) conducted a Tier II environmental impact statement for the approximately 123-mile segment between Arlington, Virginia, immediately outside Washington D.C., and Centralia as part of the "DC2RVA" project, which the federal government approved in September 2019. The project recommended expanding CSX's railroad to increase service along this segment, by expanding the RF&P line to four tracks between Washington D.C. and Alexandria, and expanding most of the line between Alexandria and Richmond from two to three tracks. However, the line is proposed to remain two-tracked in downtown Ashland, following opposition by the town and surrounding Hanover County to an expanded right-of-way as well as proposals for a bypass west of town. Washington D.C. and the Commonwealth of Virginia will also expand the Long Bridge from two to four tracks, building a new two-track span over the Potomac River adjacent to the existing one. Unlike the existing bridge, the new bridge would be owned by Virginia and used exclusively for passenger service, eliminating a bottleneck for rail service between Washington D.C. and the Southeast. Additionally, raising the top speed on the corridor from 70 to 90 mph, straightening curves and the partial separation of passenger and freight traffic enabled by constructing additional tracks would help speed up trips. Travel times between Washington D.C. and Richmond Staples Mill Road station would decrease by five to eleven minutes compared to June 2017 schedules (down to as little as 1 hour, 55 minutes) and decrease by ten to 21 minutes between Washington D.C. and Main Street station (down to as little as 2 hours, 21 minutes).

Amtrak service between Washington D.C. and Richmond would increase from a current ten round trips per day to nineteen - including five new Northeast Regional round trips, one of which would terminate at Richmond-Main Street, with four continuing to the Norfolk and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region; four other trips would continue south to Raleigh Union Station and Charlotte in North Carolina, similar to the Carolinian route; altogether, service between Washington and Richmond would be provided about once per hour. Additionally, Amtrak service to downtown Richmond would be dramatically increased by rerouting all trains that stop in Richmond - including the Carolinian, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star and Northeast Regional trips terminating at Staples Mill Road and in Norfolk - over CSX's S-Line's Bellwood Subdivision between Richmond and Centralia, allowing them to serve Main Street station. VRE service, currently limited to 38 trips per day, would also increase, with expanded off-peak frequencies, and weekend service offered for the first time. A third Northeast Regional round trip was extended from Staples Mill Road station to terminate at Main Street station in 2021.

Improvements to the Washington D.C.-Richmond segment are estimated to cost approximately $5.62 billion,  not including the Long Bridge expansion, itself estimated to cost $1.9 billion. A portion of the work would be facilitated as part of a $3.7 billion agreement between Virginia and CSX in December 2019, which included the Commonwealth purchasing 350 miles of right of way from CSX at a cost of $525 million, covering half of CSX's right-of-way between Washington and Richmond and other trackage outside the corridor, as well as rights for trains that currently do not do so to operate on the Bellwood Subdivision to serve Main Street. The $3.7 billion sum also includes the cost of the Long Bridge expansion, and the construction of 37 miles of additional track between Washington D.C. and Virginia. Approximately one-third of the cost would be paid by Virginia, another third by the federal government, and the remaining third from Maryland, Washington D.C. and other regional agencies and partners. Under the plan, the new Long Bridge, and 37 miles of track would be constructed by 2027 to 2030. Likewise, the additional VRE service, and new Northeast Regional trips, both funded by Virginia, would be phased in incrementally between 2020 and 2030, as would increased service to Main Street.

Prior to the completion of the SEHSR environmental studies, several other improvements to the corridor were underway. Main Street station reopened in 2002 (albeit only for Amtrak trains terminating at Newport News) after closing in 1975, following a flood. $75 million in federal funding issued in September 2012 paid for construction of a third main track in Stafford and Prince William counties, while Virginia's Atlantic Gateway infrastructure project funded additional main tracks in two segments in Fairfax County along with initial design work on the Long Bridge. Additionally, a series of improvements to CSX's congested Acca Yard primarily funded by Virginia and completed in 2009 and 2019 reduced conflicts between CSX freight trains and Amtrak trains on the western side of the yard, allowing for the extension of Amtrak service from Staples-Mill Road to Norfolk in the Hampton Roads region via the A-line, as well as reduced travel times for trains traveling between Staples-Mill Road and Main Street on the S-line. However, these improvements did not allow for increased service on the S-line to Main Street, for which another round of improvements to the eastern side of Acca Yard and the Bellwood Sub are planned as part of the "DC2RVA" project.

Description
Amtrak operates two branches of the Northeast Regional service from Richmond and points north to Virginia's Hampton Roads region. One branch operates to Newport News on the north side of the peninsula, and the other to Norfolk on the peninsula's south side. From Richmond Staples Mill Road station, the Newport News branch uses CSX's Bellwood Subdivision to serve Main Street station in downtown Richmond - currently the only Amtrak service to do so prior to 2021 - then uses CSX's Peninsula Extension, formerly of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, to serve Williamsburg Transportation Center and Newport News station paralleling Interstate 64. The Norfolk branch uses CSX's A-line from Staples Mill Road south to Petersburg station, then using Norfolk Southern trackage to Norfolk, paralleling U.S. Route 460. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service connects Newport News and Norfolk to Virginia Beach.

Infrastructure Improvements
In 1995, USDOT added a branch running east from Richmond to Virginia's Hampton Roads region to the main Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor. USDOT and Virginia DRPT conducted a Tier I EIS for this segment of the corridor, which USDOT approved in 2012. Though stakeholders on both sides of the peninsula desired high/higher-speed service, the environmental study ultimately recommended maintaining existing conventional 79 mph service to Newport News, while establishing higher-speed 90 mph service along Norfolk Southern's trackage to Norfolk; a 110 mph alternative was rejected due to the proposed higher cost and Norfolk Southern opposition, citing impacts on its freight operations.

Amtrak service to Norfolk was restored in December 2012, providing the city's first rail service since the discontinuation of the Mountaineer in 1977. Initially limited to a maximum speed of 79 MPH, the service was facilitated by Virginia-funded infrastructure upgrades to CSX and Norfolk Southern's lines, funded by Virginia, including previously-mentioned upgrades to CSX's Acca Yard in Richmond. A second weekdays-only Northeast Regional round trip was extended to Norfolk in 2019. The environmental impact statements for the Southeast Corridor call for a total of nine daily round trips - three to Newport News (up from the current two trips) and six round trips to Norfolk by 2045. Virginia proposes to phase in additional trips to the Hampton Roads region starting in 2022, with six round trips by 2026, following negotiations with CSX and Norfolk Southern. Additionally, Norfolk trips would be rerouted along CSX's Bellwood Subdivision to serve Main Street station in downtown Richmond.

A new replacement train station in Newport News is currently under-construction, located adjacent to the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, as part of a multi-modal transportation hub. Following several years of delays, the new station is expected to open in 2022, at a cost of $47 million. The environmental impact statement also studied proposals for an intermediate station between Petersburg and Norfolk in Suffolk, though as of 2020, said station remains only a proposal.

Description
Amtrak operates two round trips per day over the 197 mi segment between Richmond-Staples Mill Road and Raleigh - the Carolinian and Silver Star. From Richmond, the routes travel south on CSX's Richmond Terminal Subdivision and the railroad's A-line, using North End Subdivision and South End Subdivision through Petersburg, Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Selma. At Selma, the Carolinian and Silver Star turn west onto the North Carolina Railroad, owned by the state of North Carolina but operated by Norfolk Southern, to Raleigh.

The environmental studies for the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2015, identified an alternative routing for this segment, using CSX's Bellwood Subdivision to serve Richmond-Main Street station in downtown Richmond, and using the partially abandoned CSX S line (the former Seaboard Air Line main line) between Petersburg and Raleigh, paralleling US 1. The tracks on a portion of the S-line, between Centralia, Virginia and Norlina, North Carolina, were removed in the late 1980s, causing traffic to be shifted to the current alignment using CSX's A line and the North Carolina Railroad; the remaining segment, between Norlina and Raleigh, sees light usage by CSX freight trains. The S-line stretches approximately 132 mi miles between Petersburg and Raleigh, over 35 miles shorter than the existing 169 mi route between those points, providing a faster, more direct routing. The full proposed route between Raleigh and Richmond-Main Street station measures 162 mi.

The project proposes straightening curves, grade-separating every crossing on the reactivated part of the S-line and raising the top speed from 79 mph to 110 mph, resulting in an average speed of 85–87 mph between Petersburg and Raleigh (Additionally, the reactivated line would be built to accommodate future electrification, with speeds of up to 150 mph possible with that and tilting trainsets.) These improvements would allow for a dramatic decrease in travel time, with trips between Richmond-Main Street station and Raleigh estimated to take approximately two hours, 15 minutes on the S-line between Richmond-Main Street and Raleigh, compared to existing travel times of three hours, 30 minutes to three hours, 45 minutes between Staples Mill Road and Raleigh over the existing route. Also proposed, as mentioned above, the construction of a third track between Centralia and Petersburg on the existing A-line to accommodate the increased traffic between Richmond and Petersburg. The reactivated line would potentially have two new stations, in La Crosse, Virginia and in Henderson, North Carolina, subject to planning by the municipalities. Five daily round trips are proposed run on the line, including four trips between Penn Station in New York City or Washington Union Station and North Carolina, with one trip terminating in Raleigh while the other three continue to Charlotte, similar to the existing Carolinian, with one trip per day proposed to serve both of the new stops. The Silver Star would also be rerouted from the current routing via Rocky Mount and Selma to the S-line, as it did prior to the closing of the line in the 1980s. The Carolinian would continue to provide service on the existing route once a day.

The overall project cost for fully restoring and improving the S line, including the curve straightening and new bridges necessary to raise top speeds to 110 mph, has been estimated at roughly $4 billion. In response, the North Carolina-Virginia Interstate High-Speed Rail Compact Commission has proposed investigating a staged effort that would first restore the S line to its 79 mph max speed state from the 1980s, and pursue other improvements only after service was restored. This would have the benefit of reducing the travel time between Richmond and Raleigh by nearly one hour for a much lower startup cost, though it may somewhat increase the cost of performing the later improvements. The Silver Star would also travel over a restored S line, as it did before 1986, and would also see the improvement in travel time.

As part of Atlantic Gateway, Virginia sought to take control of the abandoned S Line right-of-way between Petersburg and the North Carolina border. In late 2019, negotiations were concluded and CSX, Virginia, and North Carolina reached separate deals that called for the two states to acquire the portions of the S-Line within their respective boundaries. Virginia will acquire 65 miles of the S-Line between the North Carolina-Virginia line and Petersburg, while North Carolina will acquire 10 miles of the line between Ridgeway and the North Carolina-Virginia line. North Carolina officials said that the Virginia deal will boost their efforts to acquire the remainder of the S-Line to Raleigh, which remains in light service as the Norlina Subdivision of CSX carrying some freight traffic.

Raleigh–Charlotte
The segment of the corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte travels along currently operational lines of the North Carolina Railroad, roughly parallel to I-85. The portion of the route between Raleigh and Greensboro is over the H-line, while the Greensboro–Charlotte section travels along Norfolk Southern's main line. (While the lines are owned by the North Carolina Railroad, Norfolk Southern has an operational contract for trackage rights.) Both see current freight and passenger traffic (Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont), with freight traffic along the main line particularly heavy. However, double-tracking was removed from several sections of the Greensboro to Charlotte main line since its heyday, and significant signal upgrades, curve straightening, super-elevation, and restoration will be required to support high-speed passenger service along the corridor without interfering with freight operations.

NCDOT has worked with NS, CSX, and the NCRR to restore the double-tracking and make other incremental upgrades, a process that reduced the travel time between Raleigh and Charlotte by 35 minutes from 2001 to 2010. Additional work began in 2010 under the Piedmont Improvement Project, funded by a $520 million grant under the 2009 ARRA stimulus. The PIP projects included restoring complete double-track between Greensboro and Charlotte, adding passing sidings between Raleigh and Greensboro, straightening several curves, closing crossings, and building bridges to separate train and highway movements, all of which were completed by January 2018. The ARRA funds, along with funds from the City of Raleigh and NC DOT, also constructed Raleigh Union Station, a replacement train station located at the Boylan Wye intersection of the H and S lines. The station opened in July 2018 with a concourse and platform along the H line only, but space is reserved for future construction of a northern concourse and platform along the S-line for future SEHSR trains.

Charlotte–Atlanta
Added to the SEHSR Corridor in 1998, a feasibility study was completed in August 2008 on the further extension from Charlotte through Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina to Atlanta and then Macon, Georgia. Further extensions to Savannah, Georgia, along with an extension from Raleigh through Columbia, South Carolina to Savannah and on to Jacksonville, Florida are also part of the federally designated SEHSR corridor, but those extensions have not yet been studied. All feasibility studies have suggested that synergy between parts of SEHSR and the neighboring Northeast Corridor is important. The Charlotte to Raleigh portion is predicted to be much more profitable with the corridor connected to D.C. and the Northeast Corridor. Similarly, the feasibility study found it much easier to justify the Charlotte to Atlanta and Macon route if the Charlotte to D.C. portion was completed. Atlanta is also the connecting point between SEHSR and federally designated Gulf Coast Corridor.

In May 2013, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), initiated a Tier I Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for passenger rail service between Charlotte and Atlanta. During the scoping phase, the six possible routes from the feasibility study were reduced to the following three:


 * Alternative 1: Southern Crescent
 * Using the existing Norfolk Southern right-of-way, coextensive with the middle leg of Amtrak's Crescent. The estimated 237 mi route would have an estimated travel time of 4:35~5:34 hours, train speed between 79 mph to 110 mph, with four round trips per day. The route has the lowest capital expenditure cost at $2 billion to $2.3 billion, but is also the least competitive compared to auto and air travel.


 * Potential stations would be at: Charlotte Gateway → Charlotte Airport → Gastonia → Spartanburg → Greenville → Clemson → Toccoa → Gainesville → Suwanee → Doraville → Atlanta MMPT → Atlanta Airport.


 * Alternative 2: Interstate 85
 * Using the existing Interstate 85 right-of-way. The estimated 244 mi route would have an estimated travel time of 2:42~2:50 hours, train speed between 125 mph to 180 mph, with 14 round trips per day. The route has the highest capital expenditure cost at $13.3 billion to $15.4 billion, but would be competitive against auto travel.


 * Potential stations would at: Charlotte Gateway → Charlotte Airport → Gastonia → Spartanburg → Greenville → Anderson → Commerce → Suwanee → Doraville → Atlanta MMPT → Atlanta Airport.


 * Alternative 3: Greenfield
 * The Greenfield alternative is a dedicated-use alternative primarily on new right-of-way. The estimated 267 mi route would have an estimated travel time of 2:06~2:44 hours, train speed between 125 mph to 220 mph, with 16-22 round trips per day. The route would have a capital expenditure cost at $6.2 billion to $8.4 billion, but would be competitive against both auto and air travel, when access and security clearance times are included.


 * Potential stations would at: Charlotte Gateway → Charlotte Airport → South Gastonia → Greenville–Spartanburg Airport → Anderson → Athens → Suwanee → Doraville → Atlanta MMPT → Atlanta Airport.

In September 2019, the Tier I EIS was completed. Final selection of a preferred route and approach into Atlanta will be deferred to the Tier II EIS, currently unfunded.

Atlanta and further south
There are three routes out of Atlanta being considered for high/higher speed rail. In 2012, during the study for the Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement, two main alternatives for higher speed rail have been considered. The first alternative is called Shared Use with top speeds of 90 mph to 110 mph. The second alternative is called Hybrid High Performance with top speeds of 130 mph. There are also high-speed rail alternatives in the same study with top speeds of 180 mph to 220 mph or higher.

The three routes are:
 * Atlanta – Macon – Jacksonville
 * Atlanta – Chattanooga – Nashville – Louisville
 * Atlanta – Birmingham

For the Louisville route, a feasibility study indicated that the high-speed trains for this link would be economically feasible. The stations along the route could include Cartersville and Dalton in Georgia; Chattanooga, Murfreesboro and Nashville in Tennessee; and Bowling Green and Elizabethtown in Kentucky. Although the Atlanta-Louisville high-speed rail link is not federally designated, the link will connect two federally designated corridors, SEHSR and Chicago Hub Network. The same route has been included in the US High Speed Rail Network of the US High Speed Rail Association, a non-profit advocacy group.

In June 2012, a feasibility study report presented to the State Transportation Board of Georgia indicated that a high-speed rail between Atlanta and Jacksonville would be economically feasible. Fares between Atlanta and Jacksonville would range between $119.41 and $152.24. The construction for that route would cost from $5 billion to $16 billion.

Western Virginia
Another proposed rail project, known as the Transdominion Express, would connect to SEHSR and extend from Richmond west to Lynchburg and from Washington, D.C. (Alexandria) south via an existing Virginia Railway Express route to Manassas, extending on south to Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke and Bristol on the Tennessee border.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus)
On January 28, 2010, the White House announced that Southeast Corridor would receive $620 Million of its request. This money is primarily for capacity upgrades along the Raleigh–Charlotte portion of the corridor (aka the Piedmont Improvement Program), along with some money for the Richmond–D.C. portion, as the Tier II Environmental Impact Statement for the important Raleigh–Richmond portion is not expected to be complete until 2015.