Bill Text: VA HJR333 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Virginians for High Speed Rail.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-07 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ333ER) [HJR333 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR333-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, the Virginia High Speed Rail Development Committee was founded as a joint program of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the Future of Hampton Roads in 1994; and
WHEREAS, the Virginia High Speed Rail Development Committee became an independent nonprofit organization in 2000 and was renamed Virginians for High Speed Rail; and
WHEREAS, for the last three decades, Virginians for High Speed Rail has championed the need for a fast, frequent, safe, and reliable passenger rail connecting the communities of the Commonwealth to one another, as well as to destinations up and down the East Coast; and
WHEREAS, Virginians for High Speed Rail is the largest and most successful passenger rail advocacy and education organization in the southern United States; and
WHEREAS, since Virginians for High Speed Rail's founding, ridership on Virginia's Amtrak trains has doubled; and
WHEREAS, since 2009, when Virginia began to partner with Amtrak to expand state-supported Amtrak Regional train service, ridership on Amtrak Regionals has grown nearly 200 percent; and
WHEREAS, since Virginians for High Speed Rail's founding, Virginia's passenger rail service has grown by 101 percent, including the return of passenger rail service to Norfolk and Roanoke for the first time in decades; and
WHEREAS, this passenger rail renaissance has resulted in more than 80 percent of Virginians receiving access to new or expanded passenger rail service; and
WHEREAS, seven million Virginians, representing 84 percent of statewide jobs, 88 percent of institutions of higher education, and 11 percent of the nation's active armed forces are within 20 miles of an Amtrak station; and
WHEREAS, since Virginians for High Speed Rail's founding, passenger rail service has generated an estimated $11.7 billion in economic benefits, created or sustained more than 118,000 jobs, lowered carbon emissions by 1.5 million metric tons, and reduced fuel consumption by 164.5 million gallons; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, the Commonwealth purchased more than 412 miles of railroad right-of-way as part of the historic $4 billion Transforming Rail in Virginia program; and
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth's Transforming Rail in Virginia program has received strong federal support, including two of the largest federal rail grants the Commonwealth has ever received; and
WHEREAS, the Transforming Rail in Virginia program is already paying dividends to the citizens of the Commonwealth and will result in improved passenger rail service over the coming years; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Virginians for High Speed Rail on the occasion of its 30th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Virginians for High Speed Rail as an expression of the General Assembly's congratulations and admiration for the organization's dedication to improving the mobility and quality of life of all Virginians.
