Virginia DRPT and the Southeast HSR Corridor websites have posted the Draft Recommendation Report Tier II EIS for the Richmond to Raleigh part of the Southeast HSR corridor. The 114 page report can be found at the VA DRPT announcement and the Southeast HSR websites.
The report presents the recommended alternatives and estimated costs for each of 26 segments of the corridor starting at the southern end of the Richmond Main Street station to Petersburg and then over the abandoned S-Line to downtown Raleigh NC. Much of the S-Line route would be straightened with passenger train speeds up to 110 mph. As before, a pretty assertive plan which won't be inexpensive but would leave this section of the SEHSR corridor ready for true HSR higher speeds and electrification.
I don't see a total cost for the project, guess we will have to add up the estimated cost for recommended alternative for each of the 26 sections. Since getting the funds for the entire Richmond to Raleigh corridor will be a major challenge, breaking it into 2 parts might be somewhat easier: 1) the Richmond Main Street Station to Collier yard in Petersburg (sections AA, BB, CC) and 2) the rest of the route to Raleigh. Upgrading the Main Street to Petersburg segment first combined with upgrades in Richmond would allow all the Amtrak trains going to Richmond, Norfolk, and further south to use the Main Street station and get that part of the SEHSR in place. Total estimated costs for the AA, BB, CC sections is $384 million and covers 27.1 miles. Meanwhile purchase the S-line and spend the years needed to build the new Petersburg to Raleigh route which can't be used until the entire corridor is done.
It should be noted that the current SEHSR plans are not true HSR with top speeds of 110 mph and would be Amtrak trains running on it, so this topic could be in the Amtrak forum, but since this is a new H(er)SR route, I put this in the HSR forum.
The report presents the recommended alternatives and estimated costs for each of 26 segments of the corridor starting at the southern end of the Richmond Main Street station to Petersburg and then over the abandoned S-Line to downtown Raleigh NC. Much of the S-Line route would be straightened with passenger train speeds up to 110 mph. As before, a pretty assertive plan which won't be inexpensive but would leave this section of the SEHSR corridor ready for true HSR higher speeds and electrification.
I don't see a total cost for the project, guess we will have to add up the estimated cost for recommended alternative for each of the 26 sections. Since getting the funds for the entire Richmond to Raleigh corridor will be a major challenge, breaking it into 2 parts might be somewhat easier: 1) the Richmond Main Street Station to Collier yard in Petersburg (sections AA, BB, CC) and 2) the rest of the route to Raleigh. Upgrading the Main Street to Petersburg segment first combined with upgrades in Richmond would allow all the Amtrak trains going to Richmond, Norfolk, and further south to use the Main Street station and get that part of the SEHSR in place. Total estimated costs for the AA, BB, CC sections is $384 million and covers 27.1 miles. Meanwhile purchase the S-line and spend the years needed to build the new Petersburg to Raleigh route which can't be used until the entire corridor is done.
It should be noted that the current SEHSR plans are not true HSR with top speeds of 110 mph and would be Amtrak trains running on it, so this topic could be in the Amtrak forum, but since this is a new H(er)SR route, I put this in the HSR forum.