Action
Notice of solicitation of modified and new applications for the designation of additional high-speed corridors.
Summary
On December 11, 1998, pursuant to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the FRA and FHWA published a notice in the Federal Register (at 63 FR 68499-68501) soliciting applications from States for the designation of up to three additional high-speed rail corridors. Applications were received on behalf of three corridors by the March 11, 1999 deadline, namely, from the States of Maine and New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: (1) Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine; and from the State of Ohio: (2) Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Ohio (via Toledo, Ohio); and (3) Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio (via Columbus and Dayton). Since receiving these applications, the FRA has been reviewing them carefully and seeking supplemental information from the States in order to assure that the statutory considerations pertaining to designation are properly addressed. Circumstances have altered with respect to certain of the pending applications since their receipt by the FRA. In collaboration with the prior applicant States for the Boston- Portland route, the State of Vermont has requested an expansion of the proposed designation for Northern New England, to include a route from Boston through Nashua, Manchester, and Concord, New Hampshire, thence to Montpelier and Burlington, Vermont, and potentially to St. Albans, Vermont and Montreal, P.Q., Canada. The Midwestern States and Amtrak have continued to develop their plans for the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MRRI), of which the Chicago-Cleveland corridor would form an integral part. In recognition of the MRRI's progress and in response to the State of Ohio's request that Chicago-Cleveland be considered as an extension of the existing designated Chicago Hub Network, the FRA has elected to evaluate that route as an extension, rather than as an independent corridor. Since there are now two pending applications (Boston-Portland and Cleveland- Cincinnati) for three potential designations, the FRA can entertain additional applications with the certainty that at least one opportunity exists for a new designation. Accordingly, in this notice, the FRA is (1) soliciting additional applications from States for designation of a high-speed rail corridor, and is (2) allowing applicant States additional time to modify (and include additional States in) their pending applications. The FRA and the FHWA are jointly administering this program.