Nearly two dozen Congress members from across New England called on Congress to authorize the North Atlantic Rail Corporation (NARC) to receive federal funds to design, build and oversee a high-speed rail project across the Northeast.
The project would be the first of its kind in the area. Advocates said it would increase the frequency and reliability of travel across the region while fueling economic growth and creating thousands of long-term jobs. The project would also reduce carbon emissions, they said in a letter to the leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The letter signers represent a large bloc of elected officials from the seven states most affected by the project, all of whom believe that now is the time for Congress to act and authorize the project.
“Now is the time to authorize this massive high-speed rail project which will not only dramatically improve the quality of life and economy of the seven states affected, it will also produce an enormous amount of jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY). “With infrastructure talk happening in Washington every day, now is the time for a big, bold investment in a high-speed rail that will further economic prosperity in the Northeast for years to come. It’s on all of us in the Northeast to build a coalition and do all we can to make high-speed rail a reality.”
In the letter, the Congress members asked that the committee considers including the project in the surface transportation reauthorization.
The project would create 100-minute high-speed rail service between New York City and Boston and drastically reduce travel times across the Northeast. Projected travel time savings include a 46-minute reduction on trips between New York City and New Haven, Conn., and a 97-minute reduction in trips between Springfield, Mass., and Boston.
The project is supported by several groups, including New York Laborers; North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters; Long Island Association; Windham Chamber of Commerce; The Rauch Foundation; A Better City; The Providence Foundation; Pawtucket Foundation; Metro Hartford Alliance; Stony Brook University; Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce; and Rhode Island Building Trades.