advertisement

---

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) officially issued a request for proposals from both the private and public sectors to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain high-speed rail service on 11 federally designated corridors, including the Northeast Corridor.

Proposals must be submitted to the USDOT by September 2009. The department then will establish a commission of stakeholders — including governors, mayors and Amtrak, labor, and freight- and commuter-rail officials — to evaluate proposals for each corridor. By April 2010, USDOT expects to evaluate the commission's recommendations and submit its own to Congress, beginning with proposals for the Washington, D.C.-to-New York City corridor.

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008, which became law in October, mandated the high-speed rail proposal and required private-sector participation for the first time.