Dive Brief:
- The Federal Railroad Administration said Tuesday that it is making more than $2 billion available for projects located along the Northeast Corridor from Washington, D.C., to Boston, plus along branch lines to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Massachusetts; and along Manhattan’s West Side connecting to Penn Station and the Metro North Hudson Line.
- The funds could go towards major projects such as the Hudson River Tunnel project in New York and New Jersey and the Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Baltimore.
- Capital renewal, improvement, major backlog, and station projects as well as planning studies that meet the requirements of the Northeast Corridor Project Inventory, which identifies and prioritizes projects along the corridor, can apply for this round of funding, according to the Notice of Funding Opportunity published today in the Federal Register.
Dive Insight:
In November, the Northeast Corridor Commission — a coalition of Amtrak, commuter rail agencies, states and the U.S. Department of Transportation — laid out a 15-year, $176 billion plan to rebuild the corridor’s infrastructure and prepare for increased ridership and more trains.
From the Oct. 1, 2023 beginning of the fiscal year through March 2024, Amtrak carried nearly 7 million passengers on the Northeast Corridor, a 25% jump year over year, according to the railroad’s most recent performance report. The corridor also hosts eight commuter railroads. The NEC Commission says a fully funded plan would almost double Amtrak service between New York City and Washington, D.C., and increase service between New York City and Boston by 50%. It would also allow a 60% increase in commuter trains.
Amtrak is a beneficiary of a historic $66 billion investment in rail from the 2021 infrastructure law. “The President’s investments in rail will be felt by generations to come, beginning with immediate benefits to communities and continuing to ensure essential rail corridors like the Northeast Corridor are modern, safe, and convenient, giving Americans access to world-class passenger service,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in a statement.
Among the major projects the infrastructure law funding is supporting is a new, fixed-span railroad bridge in Kearny, New Jersey, which will replace a 114-year-old swing bridge that frequently opens to let ships through, interrupting train traffic.
New Jersey Transit and Amtrak announced Monday that the new Portal North Bridge had reached 50% completion. The $1.6 billion project spans nearly 2.5 miles. “Less than two years after officially breaking ground in August 2022, NJ TRANSIT is pleased to be able to demonstrate that mega-projects in the Northeast can be advanced on-time and on budget,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett said in a statement.
