Region’s legislators seek $2.4b for rail

US Senator John F. Kerry and several other members of Congress are asking federal transportation officials to redirect $2.4 billion in high-speed rail funds to projects on the Northeast Corridor. The Northeast lawmakers said in a letter sent yesterday to US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood that the funds not being used by Florida would be put to good use on rail projects between Boston and Washington, D.C. The letter said that 250 million rail passengers use the corridor each year and that ridership is expected to increase 60 percent by 2030. In December, Massachusetts received $2.9 million in unused high-speed rail funds originally designated for Ohio and Wisconsin. That money will be used for projects in Western Massachusetts.