(The following appeared on the Albany Times-Union website on May 10, 2011.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — The last of the federal funds appropriated for high-speed rail was distributed Monday, and New York state came away with $354.4 million of the more than $2 billion available.
The money, originally committed to a high-speed rail project in Florida, was reallocated after the governor there rejected it.
New York will use $58 million to build a fourth track, extend platforms at the Rensselaer train station and pay for new signals south of Rensselaer. And $4.1 million will allow construction of a new Schenectady station to begin. The Capital District Transportation Authority already had $8.7 million toward the nearly $13 million cost, but wanted to have all the money in hand before beginning work.
Overall cost of the improvements is $83 million, according to U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter, with $58.1 million in federal funds and $24.9 million in matching state funds.
Full story: Albany Times-Union