FRA awards $1.5B to Northeast Corridor passenger-rail projects

The Federal Railroad Administration today announced it will award $1.5 billion in funding for 19 projects designed to improve passenger rail along the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

Awarded through the FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program, the 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.

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.

Combined with other projects selected through Fed-State NEC and funded under the Biden-Harris administration to upgrade NEC tunnels, bridges and tracks, the improvements announced today will help minimize disruptions and delays and allow for increased speeds for travelers and commuters, FRA officials said in a press release.

"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.

Among the projects to receive awards announced today are:

• $397.3 million to Amtrak for final design and construction activities necessary 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, Pennsylvania;

• $24 million to Amtrak for design, utility and geotechnical work and other plans to expand and modernize Washington Union Station;

• $13.4 million to Amtrak for development and final design work to replace and upgrade the catenary system along a 23-mile stretch of the NEC between New Brunswick and Newark, New Jersey; and

• $2.6 million to the Connecticut Department of Transportation for work related to 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.

A full list of the fiscal-year 2024 Fed-State NEC project selections can be read here.