The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) wants a high-speed rail (HSR) corridor for the state of Tennessee. The corridor designation will include two segments: Nashville to Chattanooga and Chattanooga to Atlanta. This corridor will be an extension of the existing Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) Corridor.The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requirements for the corridor designation include the following six elements:
- Evaluation of existing rail infrastructure
- Review of operational issues
- Rider ship projections
- Expected benefits to the public
- System financing
- Cooperation of freight rail operators
The designation of an HSR corridor puts Tennessee in position to apply for federal funds for high-speed trains.
The FRA requires that the freight railroad provide a letter indicating their willingness to cooperate in hosting high-speed passenger rail. In addition, part of the designation process is to demonstrate that the corridor is capable of supporting passenger train speeds of 90 miles per hour or greater. Due to speed differentials, high-speed passenger trains and freight trains must run on separate tracks but potentially within the same right-of-way.
ARCADIS teamed with STV (in their New York office) to designate the HSR corridor in Tennessee. ARCADIS is responsible for the overall management of the project. We are involved in the negotiations with CSX Corporation, the owner of the existing rail lines within the corridor, TDOT and FRA.
The application was successfully submitted to the FRA in November 2003.
Due to restrictive administration parameters, FRA is currently still evaluating ARCADIS’ application to extend the SEHSR corridor.
