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Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced it obligated $7 million in High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail funds to Georgia and Washington, D.C., to continue to advance work on the Southeast high-speed rail corridor.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) received a $4.1 million grant to complete a new service development plan and environmental study for the 250-mile passenger-rail corridor between Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. GDOT is contributing $1.125 million. GDOT also recently announced it is building a new multi-modal passenger terminal in downtown Atlanta, which is being designed to accommodate high-speed rail service.

Meanwhile, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation received $2.9 million to evaluate alternatives for rehabilitating or replacing the Long Bridge over the Potomac River. The more than century-old structure is the sole railroad bridge between Virginia and D.C., and carries about 90 passenger and freight trains daily. Rail service is expected to grow to nearly 150 trains during the next 20 years. CSX Transportation, which owns the bridge, will contribute $100,000 to the study.

States along the Southeast high-speed rail corridor have received nearly $581 million in federal funds to develop high-speed service in the region, according to USDOT. Most recently, Virginia received $44.3 million for environmental analysis and preliminary engineering between Washington, D.C. and Richmond. North Carolina received $4 million for environmental and design work for the construction of a new connection between Raleigh and Richmond that could reduce travel time by one hour and 30 minutes from the current schedule.