It's been just over a year since President Barack Obama announced that 31 states and the District of Columbia would receive $8 billion in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to plan, develop, and construct high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects in corridors across the country. (see Jan. 29, 2010, AASHTO Journal story)

"The federal recovery act dollars have allowed us to make some big moves," said Conti, chairman of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Standing Committee on Rail Transportation. "We have a major passenger rail station under development in downtown Charlotte and with additional investment in the way of public/private partnerships, we're convinced that the entire downtown area will be transformed."

Conti says passenger rail stimulates the economy, reduces traffic congestion and greenhouse-gas emissions, and gives people more travel options. Ridership is up in the state. In Fiscal Year 2010, the North Carolina state-owned Piedmont rail service, which is operated by Amtrak, had the largest percentage increase in ridership of any Amtrak rail line in the nation: 46%. Amtrak ridership increased 6% nationwide last fiscal year while North Carolina's Amtrak ridership was up 15%.

"We are pleased to see that more and more people are taking the train," Conti told Transportation TV. "We are confident that as we add more schedule options and increase travel speed, this trend will continue."

In January, AASHTO updated its high-speed and intercity passenger rail website with information demonstrating how North Carolina DOT and other states are bringing a new era of passenger rail service to the United States. State DOTs are responsible for planning, building, and delivering high-speed and intercity passenger rail. They are working collaboratively with existing freight and passenger railroads as well as with the Federal Railroad Administration to achieve success.

"North Carolina DOT has spent more than 15 years building its passenger rail program," Conti said. "As chairman of the Standing Committee on Rail Transportation, I've been working closely with AASHTO to share best practices with other states. We're doing the important work of building for both today and tomorrow."

Watch the full video and other Two-Minute State DOT Updates at www.TransportationTV.org.