Malloy Heads to Washington For Rail Money

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was in Washington on Thursday to meet with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and other officials in an effort to bolster Connecticut’s chances of claiming some portion of $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money for high-speed rail construction rejected by the state of Florida.

“We have a very robust application for allocation of the Florida dollars,” Malloy told reporters on a conference call after his meeting with LaHood Thursday. “I’m being quite aggressive in arguing our case that we should be assigned at least $100 million of that.”

Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, a Republican, rejected about $2.4 billion in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February that would have helped fund construction of a Tampa-to-Orlando high-speed rail line, saying that the line’s projected ridership numbers were overly optimistic and that it would only be a burden to taxpayers in future years.

Since, states with rail projects in the pipeline have been scrambling to get a piece of that money, including Connecticut. Malloy sent a letter to President Obama Feb. 18 to help fund a portion of the state’s own high-speed rail effort, the Springfield-Hartford-New Haven rail line. Malloy said his meeting today with LaHood, his fourth since he took office in January, was an attempt to show how committed the state and his administration was to the rail project.

“I’m just trying to get pressure applied so we can get some money, so we can get jobs created,” Malloy said.

The state has been trying to revive service on an under utilized 62-mile portion of rail line connecting Springfield, Mass., to New Haven, for some time. The line, which would cost an estimated $800 million to $1 billion to construct, would feature high-speed rail as well as commuter service along the corridor with trains running as often as every 30 minutes during rush hour. According to a Connecticut Department of Transportation synopsis on the project, the line could feature as many as 12 stops, including the communities of Windsor and Windsor Locks (Enfield is also being studied as a potential stop along the line), with a timetable to be fully operational by 2016.

Although the line would function primarily as a commuter service through central Connecticut, it qualifies for federal money earmarked for high-speed rail transportation because high-speed trains running from New York to Vermont and Montreal would also utilize the line.

After stalling in the legislature since the early 1990s, the project got a boost early last year when Connecticut received $40 million in ARRA funding for the installation of a second track along a 10-mile portion of the line in the Berlin area. In January of 2010, the state Bond Commission also approved $26 million to assist with the double-tracking and fund environmental surveys and design work associated with the project.

Malloy said part of the reason for his trip Thursday is because Connecticut still has not received that $40 million, and if the money is not released by April 8 it could be subject to recapture.

“It’s one of the reasons I wanted to be in front of the secretary and the deputy today,” said Malloy, adding that after meeting with LaHood and Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari he was “quite confident” that the money would be released before the deadline.

Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell approved a $260 million bonding package to help fund the line last July, while the state also submitted a grant to the federal government seeking $220 million in funding through the Federal Railroad Administration for the project, but received only about half that amount.

Malloy said that Connecticut was fully committed to realizing the project, and already has one of the strongest track records in rail transportation due to the Metro-North New Haven and Shoreline East commuter lines. He said the line would lead to construction jobs in the short term, and increased economic opportunities for the entire state and region in the long run.

“Our state is willing to put in more money than other states into this project,” said Malloy. “We’ve got to get this thing going."

He said there have also been discussions about linking the commuter line to Bradley International Airport, either through bus service or some sort of trolley line, which would be an economic boon to the Windsor Locks because it would bring many more people to the area. Malloy said he was also looking at options for light-rail projects in Connecticut, such as the trolley line that would connect to the airport.

“I’m going after everything I can,” he said.