Could Passenger Rail Service Return to Delmarva?
On Friday, President Biden announced $8.2-billion (though the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) in new grants for 10 passenger rail projects across the country – and announced corridor planning activities that would impact every region nationwide – including Delaware.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s FY22 Corridor Identification and Development Program includes the Diamond State Line (Delaware Transit Corporation) as a proposed new conventional rail system that would link Wilmington or Newark to possibly Salisbury or Berlin passing through Dover. The new conventional rail would operate at speeds of 79 to 125mph, and primarily on existing rail alignments shared with other rail operations. Other systems – including some new high-speed rail, existing routes with extensions and existing routes with improvements – have been identified throughout the country.
For each selected Corridor, the Federal Railroad Administration initially awards the grantee $500,000 for eligible activities related to the initiation of Corridor development efforts to include the development of a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing a service development plan.
