BEAR, Del. — President Joe Biden announced that 25 Northeast Corridor projects will receive a total of $16.4 billion in funding in an appearance today at Amtrak’s maintenance facility in Bear, Del., near Wilmington.
The funding comes from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Pasenger Rail Program. It includes $4.7 billion for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel, the replacement for the 150-year-old Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel in Baltimore; $2.1 billion toward replacement of the Susquehanna River Bridge between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Md.; $1.6 billion for the Penn Station Access project, which is rebuilding and expanding 19 miles of Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line to accommodate Metro-North Railroad commuter rail service for the first time; $827 million for the Connecticut River Bridge between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, Conn.; and $3.8 billion for the Hudson River Tunnel project previously announced by U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer [see “Hudson Tunnel project lands more federal funding …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 4, 2023].
The money also includes funds for planning two studies on Northeast Corridor Improvements: one regarding increasing speeds between Washington and New York City, and one to address speed, resilience, performance, and capacity in Connecticut and Rhode Island. A White House fact sheet on the announcement is available here.
In announcing the funding, Biden said that a one-day shutdown of the Northeast Corridor would cost the U.S. economy $100 million, but decried the condition of much of the route.
“This line has tunnels and bridges that are over 100 years old … train stations that haven’t seen a major upgrade for generations; tracks in constant need of repair,” he said. “It has real consequences. This outdated infrastructure leads to over 4,000 hours of delays each year on Amtrak.” The projects, he said, will “reduce delays and speed up the trains along the Northeast Corridor.”
Amtrak has published a full list of the funded projects. In all, 12 of the projects will be led by Amtrak, including rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel, a $1.26 billion project to address damage from Hurricane Sandy. In addition to the Hudson Tunnel project, led by the multiparty Gateway Development Commission, and Penn Station access, led by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 11 other projects are led by other entities on the corridor: eight by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, two by NJ Transit, and one by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
“These grants will help advance Amtrak’s plans to modernize the Northeast Corridor and unlock major bottlenecks on the busiest passenger rail corridor in America,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said in a statement. “I want to thank President Biden, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg and FRA Administrator Amit Bose for their continued support as Amtrak and our partners rebuild this critical infrastructure asset.”
Said Buttigieg, “These investments will make our busiest passenger railroad safer, faster, and more reliable, which means fewer delays and shorter commutes for the 800,000 passengers who rely on the Northeast Corridor every day.”
Additional information on each project is available here.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber welcomed the funds for the Penn Access project, saying in a statement, “This latest shot of federal funding for Metro-North Penn Access will help us get more out of existing infrastructure and will transform commutes for not only thousands of people living in transit-deprived areas of the East Bronx, but also for Amtrak customers who will benefit from the rebuilt Hell Gate Line.”
The projects funded closely reflect an inventory of needs on the Northeast Corridor cataloged by the FRA last year [see “FRA ‘Project Inventory’ prioritizes potential … grants,” News Wire, Nov. 18, 2022]. That inventory identified 15 “major backlog” projects priced at more than $10 billion; 13 of those projects are among included in today’s announcement, while a 14th, New Jersey’s Portal North bridge, is already funded with construction in progress.
— Updated at 5:05 p.m. CST with Biden comments, image from appearance at Bear, Del.; updated at 5:45 p.m. CST with comment from MTA CEO Janno Lieber.
