The recent federal infrastructure package puts $66 billion into Amtrak, with a good chunk coming to the Washington-to-Boston corridor.
Last week Congress passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, with $66 billion set aside just for Amtrak. This represents the most significant investment in Amtrak’s five-decade existence. The funds will go towards badly needed repairs and modernization. The Washington-to-Boston corridor is the nation’s busiest and has been in significant need of investment for years.
According to the Washington Post:
“It’s transformative,” Amtrak chief executive William J. Flynn said in an interview Monday. Money set aside for Amtrak, he said, “represents more funds than have been cumulatively invested in Amtrak over the first 50 years of our history.”
A big focus for Amtrak will be upgrading bridges and tunnels that, in many cases, are over a century old. Long-time readers of Conduit Street will know Amtrak was counting on funding from this package to help modernize the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, a constant pain point in the Washington-to-Boston corridor. Funding is slated to come in two tranches, $22 billion in direct investment to Amtrak and $44 billion made available in the form of grants.
According to the Washington Post:
Mitch Warren, the (Northeast Corridor Commission) executive director, said the funding will allow the region “to rebuild and modernize the Northeast Corridor to provide better, faster, more frequent, and more reliable service to the hundreds of thousands of commuters and intercity travelers who depend on it every day.”
