Amtrak Pursues High-Speed Rail Funding For NEC

Amtrak has recently filed an application for $1.3 billion in high-speed rail funding, from the pot of $2.4 billion turned back by the state of Florida, to upgrade its high-speed rail service along the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor. The funding would go towards a series of infrastructure improvements, including elements of Amtrak's Gateway Project, that would provide critical first steps to bringing high-speed rail service to the Northeast mega-region. The Gateway Project represents Amtrak's vision for next generation high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor.

"The Northeast Corridor is a premier region in the country to advance the nation's high-speed rail program," said Amtrak President/CEO Joseph Boardman. "The Gateway Project improvements to increase passenger rail capacity and accesss into the heart of Manhattan are absolutely essential to make next generation high-speed rail a reality."

Amtrak worked closely with state partners to prioritize project selection in its application, ensuring that projects submitted by Amtrak were vital for the reliability and capacity of the current NEC network, in addition to being critical building blocks for expanded high-speed rail service.

The three Gateway Projects requests within the applicaiton include:

- A $720 million replacement of the more than 100 year-old movable Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River in New Jersey with a new, high-level fixed bridge. Amtrak has requested $570 million for this, and the state of New Jersey will contribute up to $150 million.

- A request of $188 million for preliminary engineering and environmental analysis for two new tunnels under the Hudson River into Manhattan with related infrastructure improvements.

- $50 million for preliminary engineering and environmental analysis for the development of a new Penn Station South facility to accomodate more tracks and platforms in downtown New York.

- $450 million to support capacity increases and improve trip times between Philadelphia and New York, one of the busiest sections of the NEC. The project will upgrade electrical power, signal systems, and overhead catenary wires in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to improve reliability, increase speeds up to 160 mph, and support more frequent high-speed service. Track switches at the western end of New York's Penn Station will also be reconfigured to avoid congestion issues.

Separate from the Gateway Project is an application for $15 million for the necessary environmental and preliminary engineering design to examine replacement options for the 100+ year-old, low-level movable Pelham Bay Bridge over the Hutchinson River in the Bronx on the Hell Gate Line that connects New York to New England.

Boardman emphasized that the Gateway Project is key for the future growth and economic development in the entire NEC region. The Gateway Project represents the cornerstone from which Amtrak plans to build a new, two-track 220 mph next generation high-speed rail system.

Posted in: policy,Ryan Jeroski,train,transit