by Scott Detrow
Public Radio Capitol News
(Washington) -- Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation has won a 28 million dollar federal grant for construction of a high-speed rail line in western Pennsylvania.
Senator Arlen Specter says that announcement more than doubles the amount of federal funding that’s been steered toward the proposed Pittsburgh International Airport to Greensburg Maglev line.
"From fiscal year 99 to 2005, we have 22.52 million. 95-0-thousand in ’09, and 28 million million on top. So that comes to 51 million dollars—over 51 million dollars."
Specter says the money will be used to update the project’s financial plan, conduct an independent cost analysis and issue a construction bid for a bridge, among other efforts.
Maglev officials are hoping to win more federal funding for the effort later this year, when they submit a bid for federal stimulus dollars.
Specter says he’s hoping the Maglev line eventually stretches across the entire commonwealth, so passengers can travel from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia at speeds of over 200 miles an hour.
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About PRCN's - Scott Detrow
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- Scott Detrow covers state politics for Pennsylvania's public radio stations. Detrow came to the Capitol from WITF-FM, where he covered Central Pennsylvania news and anchored local "All Things Considered" segments. Much of his reporting focused on the 2008 presidential primary and general election. He also covered the Pennsylvania National Guard, and won a national Edward R. Murrow award for reports on the 56th Stryker Brigade's preparations for a 2009 deployment to Iraq. Detrow has also covered New York City politics for WFUV-FM, earning a distinction from the New York Press Club, and won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for a radio documentary on South Africa's AIDS pandemic in 2007. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University with degrees in political science and English.