Could President Biden’s high-speed rail come to SC? Here’s where it might go

High-speed passenger train service planned between Charlotte and Atlanta could include a stop at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

President Joe Biden announced $34.5 million for planning and improving that corridor and 68 others across 44 states. It is part of $8.2 billion in new funding for rail projects across the country that Biden announced last week.

The money includes a $3 billion high-speed rail system between California and Nevada as well as upgrading corridors in Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

The idea of improving the Charlotte to Atlanta corridor has been in the works for years as part of the federal government’s Corridor Identification and Development program.

White House officials said other stops could include Augusta and Athens, Georgia.

“These historic projects will create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, unlock economic opportunity for communities across the country, and open up safe, comfortable, and climate-friendly travel options to get people to their destinations in a fraction of the time it takes to drive,” a news release from The White House said.

Across the country, aging rail infrastructure would be repaired to increase train speeds, reduce delays, benefit freight rail supply chains and reduce greenhouse emissions, The White House said.

“Electric high-speed rail trains will take millions of cars off the roads and reduce emissions, further cementing intercity rail as an environmentally-friendly alternative to flying or driving and saving time for millions of Americans,” the news release said.

The $8.2 billion would come from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program and the $34.5 million through the Corridor Identification and Development program.

This new funding would allow planning step one to begin.