'A generational undertaking': Buttigieg highlights $1.1 billion rail project to connect Raleigh and Richmond

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Gov. Roy Cooper and others to highlight the new infrastructure spending.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Transportation visits Raleigh Union Station to tout a new $1 billion high speed rail grant to connect Raleigh and Richmond.

North Carolina won big on a competitive federal grant, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Raleigh on Monday to tout it.

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, North Carolina will receive a $1.1 billion federal high speed rail grant to help connect Raleigh to Richmond. Amtrak and the North Carolina Department of Transportation will also provide a 20% non-federal match.

The funds raised aim to complete the initial phase of the Raleigh to Richmond Innovating Rail Program, which includes construction along the S-Line corridor from Raleigh to Wake Forest. The Raleigh-Richmond connection should be available for passenger travel by 2029-2030, according to the state transportation department.

“It’s a generational undertaking,” Buttigieg said at an event Monday at Raleigh Union Station. “It won’t be done overnight. But it will be done swiftly.”