High-Speed Rail plans chugging along in NY

      One impetus for the summit was the $151 million in Federal stimulus funds coming to the state for rail improvements, part of a national pool of $8 billion dedicated to high-speed rail corridors around the country. New York was well behind California and Florida and other states in the competition for funds, but officials here have said they hope to better in future funding rounds. 

      Economic development in a high-speed corridor was a topic of discussion at the summit, as was the feasibility of using the existing routes shared between passenger and freight, or establishing a separate dedicated track in a "secure corridor." CSX, the private freight carrier which owns the tracks, has made it clear it doesn't believe mixing passenger trains and freight on the same tracks is safe, according to the paper. The railroad's position on high-speed passenger rail was said to be improving, however, according to Karen Rae of the Federal Railroad Administration, who was quoted in the piece.