Infrastructure Bill to fund new North Carolina train services
There is money on the way to make it easier to travel through North Carolina.
Billions of dollars will go toward railroads to connect North Carolina and neighboring states.
Biden dings Trump on infrastructure, while he showcases $8.2B for 10 major rail projects
The White House said it will be the largest investment in passenger rail projects since Amtrak was created 50 years ago.
More than $8 billion will be spent nationwide.
Over a billion of that money will go toward parts of the Southeast from Raleigh to Wake Forest.
There will also be a new high-speed rail from Charlotte to Atlanta.
The Biden Administration said it will create tens of thousands of union jobs and generate more economic opportunities for communities nationwide.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discussed the benefits of transit funding in a congressional hearing earlier this year.
“We know that transit yields major economic benefits,” he said. “For every dollar invested in transit, there’s about $5 of economic growth that comes with it.”
However, some critics argue ridership will not reach pre-pandemic levels and question expensive investments in passenger rails.
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“Whether it’s rail systems. Whether it’s transit systems. It’s been clear that relatively few people ride them,” said David Ditch, with The Heritage Foundation. “And the only way these systems operate is with massive amounts of annual subsidies.”
The Biden Administration said it is the first world-class high-speed rail project in the nation’s history.
Funding for the new transit system is set to come from the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
