U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Visits Charlotte to Highlight Passenger Rail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Congresswoman Alma Adams, and Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter today along a passenger and freight railroad corridor just north of Uptown Charlotte to highlight the need for increased investments in passenger rail and rail safety. The Secretary’s visit is part of a four-day, five state bus tour, The GROW AMERICA Express, highlighting the importance of investing in America’s infrastructure and to encourage Congress to act on a long-term transportation bill.  

“Transportation projects have stalled or stopped across the country due to the lack of funding certainty,” said Secretary Foxx.  “Passenger rail is critical to a growing economy – it brings economic development, creates jobs and provides access to opportunity for residents in the surrounding community.”

The NCDOT and the City of Charlotte are in the planning stages for the development of a new multi-modal transportation center - the proposed Charlotte Gateway Station. The station would replace the existing Amtrak station and serve intercity passenger rail, regional and local buses, and a proposed street car.

"Infrastructure investments are an integral part in our drive to improve railroad safety,” said Federal Railroad Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg. "Large-scale projects and safety improvements can only be accomplished through predictable, dedicated funding.”

On February 2, the Obama Administration announced a plan to address the infrastructure deficit with a $478 billion, six-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal building on the GROW AMERICA Act, which the Administration first released last year.  The plan makes critical investments in infrastructure needed to promote long-term economic growth, enhance safety and efficiency, and support jobs for the 21st century.

The need for these investments is clear. Earlier this month, U.S. DOT released a landmark study, “Beyond Traffic” that looked at the trends and choices facing America’s transportation over the next three decades. These included a rapidly growing population, increasing freight volume, demographic shifts in rural and urban areas, and a transportation system that’s facing more frequent extreme weather events. A key takeaway of the study is that we need to keep investing in transportation for the sake of future generations, and the proposals included in GROW AMERICA would allow us to do just that.

The GROW AMERICA Express will include visits to universities, manufacturers, bridges, freight facilities, and highway projects in an effort to raise awareness of America’s infrastructure deficit. Secretary Foxx will visit with students, business leaders, transportation stakeholders, and community residents, to discuss the projects that work, projects that are needed, and to ask them to commit to standing up for a future with an American transportation system that is second-to-none.

To follow the Secretary’s tour, visit http://www.dot.gov/grow-america.

###