Rep. Peter Welch and Gov. Peter Shumlin hosted an event to try to convince Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration Karen Rae to choose Vermont to receive federal funding for a rail project.
Rae is part of a team charged with redistributing a $2.4 billion grant that was originally allocated for high-speed rail in Florida, but was rejected by the state's governor.
The proposed plan would create a freight and passenger rail line along the western corridor of Vermont. The rail would connect in Rutland to the Ethan Allen line and extend to Burlington, with a stop in Middlebury.
“It is time for us to decide if we are ready to invest in America,” said Rae. “We know that this is starting to move our country forward.”
Proponents of the rail said that rail would be good for commuters, college students and tourists while creating jobs and benefiting the environment, but two previous applications for a part of $8 billion in federal rail funding have been rejected.
Rae said that the network of neighboring states already working together on rail with Vermont was likely to help this application, because the rail administration is looking for projects that link regionally, rather than within states.
In order to convince Rae that Vermont would be worthy of the federal grant, Welch invited local business and community leaders from across the state, and the crowd gave Rae a standing ovation when she approached the podium.
The long guest list included Secretary of Transportation Brian Searles, Transportation Rail Director Joe Flynn, State Senators Peg Flory, Dick Mazza and Bob Hartwell, and State Representatives Herb Font-Russel, Charles Bohi, Diane Lanpher and Patrick Brennan. Local leaders included Tom Donohue, executive vice president of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce, Andy Mayer, president of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and Tim Shea, president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce. The director of the Rutland Economic Development Corp. Jamie Stewart, President of Westminster Cracker Larry Cirina and Plant Manager for OMYA Pierre Masuy were also in attendance.
Comments