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Connecticut's train service can look forward to a major upgrade, courtesy of federal funding. Sen. Chris Dodd and Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced today that the state will receive a $120 million federal grant for high-speed rail development.
"This is truly a great day in Connecticut -- and this is a hard-earned and well-deserved celebration," Rell said at a news conference at the Meriden train station. "It's a great day for commuters, a great day for business and economic development all along the central Connecticut corridor and a great day for the future of transportation -- not only here but throughout New England."
The funds will go toward renovating the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield corridor to make way for a new high-speed line running from New York through New England. The state hopes to have the project finished in the next five years.
Even without the new grant, the state already has more than $600 million earmarked for the project. The General Assembly committed more than $561 million in Special Tax Obligation Bonds in 2006. And in January, the federal government awarded Connecticut a $40 million grant to the project .
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