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The Federal Railroad Administration and Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) recently published the Richmond/Hampton Roads Passenger Rail Project Tier I Draft Environmental Impact Statement for public review and comment.

DRPT is evaluating options for higher-speed passenger-rail service between Richmond and Hampton Roads, both in the Richmond-Petersburg-South Hampton Roads Corridor along Route 460 and the Richmond-Williamsburg-Newport News Amtrak Corridor along Interstate 64. New passenger-rail service in those corridors ultimately could provide rail connections to the Southeast, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions as an extension of the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.

The Draft Tier I EIS provides an overview and comparison of the potential alternatives, with information on the cost, ridership, environmental impacts and infrastructure improvements associated with each option, according to DRPT. Public hearings on the Draft EIS currently are being scheduled for early 2010.

For more information on the project, or to view the Draft EIS, follow this link.