Federal and state officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a new high-speed rail line that will connect Raleigh, North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia, according to an article by Flynn Nicholls in Newsweek.

“Currently, the passenger rail route from Richmond to Raleigh is 190 miles and takes 3 hours and 45 minutes. The project aims to refurbish and extend an existing freight-only line between the two cities to create a more direct route, with the eventual intention of running a 110-mile-per-hour passenger service.” 

As Nicholls explains, “The Raleigh to Wake Forest section received $1.1 billion of federal funding in December 2023. The project includes new and upgraded tracks for the 18-mile section, 11 grade separations, and the closure of multiple at-grade crossings.”

The project is part of the federally designated Southeast Corridor, which serves Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.