Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel praised the federal decision to expedite the environmental review processes for high speed passenger rail service along the Northeast Corridor.

Rep. Engel said, “By compressing the review procedures we can accelerate building a high speed rail line but with the same safeguards built in. This is similar to the procedure taken with the Tappan Zee Bridge which is designed to take years off the replacement process for that aging bridge.

“The Northeast Corridor is the busiest rail line in the country. This will not only make train service faster sooner, it will speed up the construction process and put American workers back on the job. This will benefit our economy as well as our rail system. An enhanced rail corridor will also cut down on automobile traffic which helps our environment.”

Through this pilot project, the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of Transportation will work with stakeholders.  They will identify efficiencies to speed the environmental review process on the selection of service types and station locations in the Northeast Corridor. The program will engage federal, state and local governments and the public in the environmental review process earlier to set benchmarks. These benchmarks will maintain rigorous environmental protections and save time and money by avoiding conflicts and delays in the later steps of rail project development.

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