Amtrak has been awarded nearly $10 billion in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding from the Biden-Harris Administration to modernize critical infrastructure, improve stations and support future ridership growth on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). This historic funding comes at a critical time as NEC ridership continues to rise, consistently exceeding pre-pandemic levels since early summer as Amtrak delivers a new era of passenger rail.

The grants announced today will support 12 Amtrak-led projects through the FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (Fed-State NEC):

• Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program (up to $4.7B)
• Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project (up to $2.08B)
• East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project (up to $1.26B)
• Connecticut River Bridge Replacement Project (up to $826.64M)
• Dock Bridge Rehabilitation Project (up to $300.18M)
• Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project (up to $133.32M)
• Baltimore Penn Station Redevelopment (up to $108.32M)
• Pelham Bay Bridge Replacement Project (up to $58.27M)
• Gunpowder River Bridge Replacement Program (up to $30M)
• NEC South End Infrastructure Renewal and Speed Improvement Planning Study (up to $21.6M)
• Bush River Bridge Replacement Program (up to $18.8M)
• New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study (up to $4M)

Another 13 NEC projects led by Amtrak’s partners also received funding, including:

• Hudson Tunnel Project – Gateway Development Commission (up to $3.79B)
• Penn Station Access – MTA (up to $1.64B)
• Walk Bridge Replacement Project – CTDOT (up to $465M)
• Devon Bridge Replacement Project – CTDOT (up to $245.92M)
• Delco Lead – NJ TRANSIT (up to $180.9M)
• New Haven Line Power Improvement Program – CTDOT (up to $122.8M)
• Devon Bridge Interim Repairs – CTDOT (up to $119.32M)
• Hartford Line Rail Program Double Track (Phase 3B) Project – CTDOT (up to $104.86M)
• New Haven Line Track Improvement and Mobility Enhancement Part 1 and 3 – CTDOT (up to $71.64M)
• Newark Penn Station Vertical Circulation Improvements – NJ TRANSIT (up to $59.2M)
• Reconstruction of Cornwells Heights Station – SEPTA (up to $30.5M)
• Saugatuck River Bridge Replacement – CTDOT (up to $23.2M)
• New Haven Line Network Infrastructure Upgrade Project – CTDOT (up to $15.4M)

View additional details here, including project descriptions and funding details.

These new grant awards are a major step in delivering on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA) vision for expanded and improved passenger rail. In September 2023, the FRA awarded Amtrak nearly $200 million through the CRISI grant program. Amtrak has also submitted additional federal grant applications to improve our Long Distance and State Supported services through the FRA’s Corridor ID Program and separate Fed-State Partnership Program funding for projects outside the NEC. Those grant award announcements are anticipated later this year.

The NEC is one of the busiest and economically vital transportation systems in the world, serving the Northeast’s five major metropolitan regions – Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on the approximately 2,200 Amtrak, commuter and freight trains that operate over some portion of the route each day. In addition to operating Acela, Northeast Regional, State Supported and Long Distance trains on the NEC, Amtrak also provides dispatching services and electric propulsion power while maintaining and improving the infrastructure and facilities used by Amtrak and others.

-via Press Release