The Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) has been coordinating planning efforts with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and neighboring states for the Southeast High-Speed Rail (SEHSR) Corridor. Established in 1992 as one of the five original national high-speed rail corridors by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the SEHSR aims to provide faster and more reliable rail service between Washington, DC; Richmond, VA; North Carolina; and points south. The corridor has been broken down into segments, which have federal National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) studies advancing on different timelines. Environmental studies for several segments in the SEHSR corridor have already been completed, including DC to Richmond Southeast High-Speed Rail (DC2RVA).
Transforming Rail in Virginia is advancing improvements and increased passenger service levels that are consistent with the SEHSR and DC2RVA.
The DC2RVA Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD), along with the Long Bridge Project FEIS and ROD, provide the environmental clearance for most of the rail projects between Washington, DC, and Richmond, VA. Transforming Rail in Virginia is delivering improvements and increased passenger service levels that are consistent with DC2RVA and the Long Bridge projects.
Virginia has assumed sponsorship of the Long Bridge project from DDOT, which was outlined in the Long Bridge FEIS and ROD. All Transforming Rail in Virginia projects will be completed within designated environmental clearances applicable to each project.
