Amtrak Works to Enhance Northeast Corridor Service

As part of Amtrak’s efforts to advance a new era of rail, the company is making significant infrastructure improvements on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to improve reliability, safety, and efficiency.

Amtrak is investing $260 million for track infrastructure improvements during the summer months, along with other ongoing work.

The investments, a 109% increase from last year’s summer infrastructure renewal work, are fundamental to improving services to support the railroad’s ambitious goal of doubling annual ridership to 66 million by 2040.

“In addition to our ongoing catenary inspection and repair program, we’re renewing our tracks, signals, and other railroad infrastructure across the Northeast Corridor and Harrisburg Line, while also advancing major projects for new tunnels, bridges, trains, and other historic investments,” said Amtrak Executive VP, Capital Delivery, Laura Mason. “Thanks to new, innovative approaches and the support of our partners, we’re transforming the way we work to advance these upgrades in a more effective and efficient manner, enabling us to complete more work in less time.”

Amtrak’s NEC Improvements

Amtrak customers traveling on the NEC may experience minor delays in various locations due to track renewal work.

Project specifics include:

• Replacing more than 75,500 railroad ties and 32 track miles of rail.
• Improving track stability to more than 170 miles of track.
• Renewing more than 35 track switches.

Amtrak’s work is made possible by funding from Amtrak grants and other federal programs, state and local contributions, and Amtrak revenue.

Additional NEC Work

In addition to the NEC infrastructure work, several major Amtrak-led or sponsored projects are underway or set to begin later this year. These include:

• Replacing 1950s-era rail infrastructure in Pennsylvania through the Harrisburg Line Track Renewal Project.
• Advancing construction of the new Portal North Bridge, which recently passed the 67% completion mark and is being delivered in partnership with NJ TRANSIT.
• Kicking off major construction for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, which will eliminate the biggest rail bottleneck between Washington, D.C., and New Jersey.

Adjusted train schedules will be implemented for various services operated by Amtrak and our commuter partners to account for this work and avoid conflicts.

Building on Previous Projects

Earlier this year, Amtrak also completed construction replacing four power transmission circuits into one of Amtrak’s critical substations, Kearny Substation 41, in New Jersey.

The transmission circuits provide power to the NEC for Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT trains along this heavily traveled section just outside of New York City.

Amtrak worked closely with its partners and stakeholders on this important project, including Conrail, PATH, and NJ TRANSIT, to improve overall reliability of the power system.

Additionally, Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT are continuing to accelerate their joint examination, inspection, maintenance, and improvement activities to various infrastructure, catenary, and fleet systems.