Significant grant will allow nation’s first high-speed maglev project to advance
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey and Congressmen Bill Shuster and Mike Doyle today announced that the Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project will receive $28 million in federal funding. The funding is in the form of a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration SAFETEA-LU Maglev Program.
“This $28 million award is the most significant development in the 29 years we’ve been working on Maglev,” Senator Specter said. “The vision is to have a 250 mile-an-hour train traveling from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia with intermediate stops. Such a train would be a tremendous economic boon with thousands of new jobs in the steel and construction industry and would meet our increasing demand for transportation, reduce highway congestion, improve air quality and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”
“This long-awaited and long overdue funding will help move development of high speed maglev forward,” said Senator Casey. “This project has the chance to help establish a world-class transportation system in Pennsylvania and I am pleased that the Federal Railroad Administration has decided to award these funds to the Pennsylvania Maglev project after a competitive grant process. This initiative has the potential to spur job creation while helping to improve our environment and bolster the Commonwealth’s long-term economic competitiveness. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to build on the progress that this federal investment will help bring about.”
“I’ve been working to build a mag-lev system in Pennsylvania throughout my service in Congress,” said Congressman Mike Doyle. “I believe it could be a major new engine for job creation and economic growth in our region. It’s great to see all our hard work paying off.”
“This is a great investment in the next generation of rail that will continue Pennsylvania’s long history of innovation and advancement in rail transportation,” said Congressman Bill Shuster, Ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. “A true high speed rail line connecting Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will prove that rail transportation remains a premier way to travel in the 21st Century. I look forward to working with my colleagues Senators Specter and Casey as this exciting project moves forward.”
Today’s funding announcement represents the largest federal grant ever given to the project and more than doubles the $22.5 million in federal funding the project has received since Fiscal Year 1999. The grant will allow the project to complete pre-engineering, update its financial plan, conduct an independent cost-analysis, perform studies for infrastructure placement and execute a bid for a bridge over the Monongahela River.
The Pennsylvania High-Speed Maglev Project is an environmentally friendly and energy efficient transportation system that would initially cover a 54-mile long route in three sections, connecting the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIA) with downtown Pittsburgh and the eastern suburbs at the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the City of Greensburg. An estimated 14.2 million passengers are expected to utilize this segment per year. Eventually, the line would be extended to Philadelphia and include stops in Johnstown/Altoona, State College, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Philadelphia. It is situated as the hub of a future multi-state, intercity network that will reach from the major northeast cities to those in the Midwest.
Based on standard job projection formulas used in the transportation industry that include material production, the first segment will create nearly 57,000 overall jobs, including approximately 2,500 construction jobs for the first segment’s 2½ year construction period.
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