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Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced it signed a $24.3 million grant agreement with the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which will use the funds to close the three remaining grade crossings on the Keystone Corridor.

The crossing closures will enable the commonwealth to increase future train speeds along the corridor from 110 mph to 125 mph.

The funds were awarded through the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program.

The crossings to be closed are located in Mount Joy Borough, Rapho Township and Leacock Township. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Amtrak also will contribute a combined $3.4 million toward the projects.

Operating between New York, Philadelphia and Harrisburg, the Keystone Corridor is Amtrak’s fourth most heavily traveled route, according to a press release. In 2006, Amtrak and PennDOT completed a series of corridor upgrades that enabled the partners to increase train speeds to 110 mph. Since then, ridership has jumped 37 percent to 1.2 million passengers in 2010.