WASHINGTON, May 9: The US government awarded $2 billion in funding on Monday for high-speed rail projects including production of “next-generation” passenger trains and improvement of the country's busy northeast corridor.

The unprecedented investment “will help ensure America is equipped to win the future with the fastest, safest and most efficient transportation network in the world,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

President Barack Obama has highlighted the need to spend billions to develop high-speed railways in key corridors to sustain the economic recovery and boost the competitiveness of the country's infrastructure.

Vice President Joe Biden, who during his years in the US Senate regularly commuted by rail from his home state of Delaware to the capital Washington, hailed the projects aimed at transforming the US rail system.

They will “put thousands of Americans to work, save hundreds of thousands of hours for American travellers every year, and boost US manufacturing by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in next-generation, American-made locomotives and railcars,” he said.

The Transportation Department selected 15 states and national rail operator Amtrak to receive $2.02bn for 22 intercity rail projects, part of a plan to connect 80pc of Americans to high-speed rail within 25 years.

Some $795 million will go toward improving the Northeast Corridor, the country's busiest, linking Washington, New York and Boston. The projects are expected to boost the corridor's top speeds in some segments to 160 miles per hour from the present 135 mph.—AFP