The US Department of Transportation has announced that $1.195bn in high-speed rail funds originally designated for Wisconsin and Ohio will be redirected to high-speed rail projects in other states across the country.
The Federal Railroad Administration originally announced $810m for Wisconsin's Milwaukee-Madison corridor and $400m for Ohio’s Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland 3C route.
Wisconsin has suspended high-speed rail work and incoming Governors for Wisconsin and Ohio have indicated that they are unlikely to make use of the high-speed rail grants provided, prompting the US Government to shift the grants to other states.
The states to receive high-speed rail grants include California (up to $624m), Florida ($342.3m), Washington State ($161.5m), Illinois ($42.3m), New York ($7.3m), Maine ($3.3m), Massachusetts ($2.8m), Vermont ($2.7m) and Missouri ($2.2m).
In addition, Oregon will receive up to $1.6m, North Carolina about $1.5m, Iowa up to $309,080 and Indiana up to $364,980.
Wisconsin will now receive around $2m for the Hiawatha line.
Last year, the US Government provided $8bn to launch a national high-speed rail programme.
