FRA awards $1.5 billion in Fed-State grants to improve passenger rail along NEC
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has awarded $1.5 billion in federal funding through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (Fed-State) for 19 projects along the Northeast Corridor (NEC).
The $1.5 billion in funding builds on more than $16.4 billion in Fed-State NEC grants announced in 2023 for projects along the corridor, such as the Gateway Program Hudson River Tunnel Project in New York and New Jersey, Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Program in Maryland, Walk Bridge Replacement in Connecticut and New York Penn Station Access Project, all of which have begun construction activities. According to the FRA, the NEC grants are a subset of a historic $66 billion investment in America’s passenger rail network, including new high-speed rail services in the west to connect southern California and Nevada and communities throughout California's Central Valley, new and expanded passenger rail service to better connect the southeast, restored service to connect multiple states across the Gulf Coast and investments to further grow rail networks in the Midwest.
FRA notes projects in this round of selections will replace aging catenary structures susceptible to failures that contribute to travel delays; improve several signal systems necessary to increase capacity, operating speeds and safety; and support planning activities to expand Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C., among other projects, to further reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog on the corridor.
“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to make good on its promise to deliver the long-awaited, much-needed investments to modernize this critical route,” said U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With the nearly $1.5 billion in funding we’re announcing today, we’re upgrading our rail infrastructure to support our economy and make service safer, faster and more reliable for hundreds of thousands of passengers who depend on this route.”
FRA notes the NEC is one of the busiest and most economically significant rail corridors in the world, with hundreds of thousands of daily riders in a region that represents 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, USDOT is investing billions of dollars in NEC projects. In the northeast and every other region of the country, FRA is investing in approximately 320 projects and dozens of emerging passenger rail corridors.
“With today’s announcement, FRA has now announced grants for all major backlog projects in our NEC Project Inventory, a transparent and well-organized approach announced under the Biden-Harris Administration to modernize and improve America’s busiest rail corridor,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. “The Biden-Harris Administration put forth a bold vision for rail in America and thanks to unprecedented investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and support from this Aadministration, that vision is taking hold in the northeast and every region across the country.”
Fed-State NEC projects receiving funding this round include:
Pennsylvania – Mid-Atlantic OCS Replacement Program Phase 1: Zoo to Paoli Project (Up to $397.3 million)
The proposed project is for final design and construction activities to replace and upgrade the catenary power system on an 18-mile segment of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Line between the Zoo substation in Philadelphia and the Paoli substation in Paoli, Pa. The project’s scope includes replacing the Bryn Mawr power substation, replacing overhead catenary structures, upgrading the signal power system and installing new power transmission lines along the corridor. The catenary structures and much of the existing overhead catenary system was first installed in the 1910s. The project is a significant state-of-good-repair investment and is expected to increase operating speeds and reduce delays along this segment of the Keystone Line.
District of Columbia – Washington Union Station Expansion Project (Up to $24 million)
The proposed project includes project development activities like design, utility and geotechnical work, supporting plans to expand and modernize Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. The project will realign and improve tracks, platforms and concourses. The project also involves construction of a new bus facility, parking garage and train hall and improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Future construction of the project will improve the state of good repair of this major station on the NEC and improve intercity passenger rail performance through a projected 50 percent decrease in boarding time and the reduction of Amtrak’s idle time at the station.
New Jersey – County-Newark Catenary Upgrades Project (Up to $13.4 million)
The proposed project is for project development and final design to replace and upgrade the catenary system along a 23-mile stretch of the NEC between New Brunswick and Newark, N.J. FRA notes the catenary pole structures along this segment of the corridor date back to the 1930s and the overhead wire is nearly 50 years old. The system is prone to failures that routinely impact reliability. The catenary structures and wire will be comprehensively replaced and upon completion, the project is anticipated to reduce catenary-related delays by at least 80 percent on this segment of the NEC.
Connecticut – Hartford Station Relocation Project (Up to $2.6 million)
The proposed project is for project planning lifecycle stage activities to refine the alternatives for construction of a new Hartford train station and multimodal hub with associated realignment and double tracking of 2.1 miles of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield corridor in Hartford, Conn. Completing planning activities will prepare the project to proceed to later stages of development. Future construction of the project could improve intercity passenger rail service performance through increased operating speeds and reduced delays.
