Government spending in action

Only off-topic as much as a train line connecting Raleigh to Charlotte is.

WBTV has the article; read through the whole thing.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP/WBTV) - North Carolina transportation officials say they've reached an agreement that will allow them to obtain $461 million in federal grants to improve train service.

The agreement will allow faster and more frequent passenger service between Charlotte and Raleigh. State transportation secretary Gene Conti says the agency will seek bids for contracts for tracks, bridges and trains.

Officials say the new service would cut travel time from Charlotte to Raleigh to less than three hours, even with seven stops along the way. However, the ride will only be 13 minutes faster.

The main question this of course raises is whether it's worth nearly half a billion dollars to shave 13 minutes off the route between Charlotte and Raleigh. The other question might be if now is the time to be spending the money on such a task.