Maryland and Delaware senators seek rejected Florida high-speed rail funds

Posted: 3:45 pm Mon, February 28, 2011
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON  — Senators from Maryland and Delaware are asking the federal transportation secretary to redirect high-speed rail funding rejected by Florida’s governor to projects in the Northeast corridor.

Maryland Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin announced Monday that they sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood along with Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., Chris Coons, D-Del., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., John F. Kerry D-Mass., Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

The letter says the northeast corridor accounts for about a fifth of both the nation’s gross domestic product and population, has the nation’s only operating high-speed train, and has received less than 2 percent of the $10.5 billion approved for the high-speed rail program.