Sen. Kaine pushes for high speed rail in RVA

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is making a push to have high-speed rail lines travel through Richmond. Sen. Kaine gave us a hard hat tour of he newly renovated Main Street Train Shed. 

You can't miss the massive glass building along I-95. That renovated structure is part of a big effort to bring high speed rail service to the metro and beyond. 

"This will be a transportation hub for road, for rail, and for commuters," said Sen. Kaine. "And what we are trying to do... basically is in the Northeast they are very used to High Speed rail between D.C. and Boston. We want there to be a Southeast rail corridor from Washington to Atlanta. It would basically go Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta." 

The renovation of the Main Street Station was a $92 million project that completed in three phases. This final phase was $49 million dollars.

"My husband was driving down 95 and he did a double take because he couldn't believe how outstanding it looks. It's going to be amazing," said architect Katie Cortez. "It's pretty humbling to be part of something that is really going to transform Richmond especially downtown Richmond."

<11:38 to 11:42 Sen. Tim Kaine> "I'm excited to be here to learn about what they are doing today and then try to help out in the Senate." 

The plan to restore the shed and enclose it in glass has been more than a decade in the making. In the short term, it's a new public space for parties and events. The plan is to make it a multi-use hub for buses and bicycle traffic with high speed rail down the line.
 
"Lot of work still to do," said Sen. Kaine. "But we are very excited about the vision."

We are told construction should be complete in about 6 months, but you can now start booking your events for 2017.