Billions in Amtrak Funding Could Modernize Aging Rail System
The New York Times
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law includes money that Amtrak hopes can fix crumbling bridges and tunnels along the Northeast Corridor.
WASHINGTON — Officials up and down the East Coast have long agitated for money to help replace crumbling bridges and tunnels along the Northeast Corridor, the heavily traveled route between Washington and Boston. After decades of underinvestment, the $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden signed last month is poised to deliver much-needed improvements.
The funding includes the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak in 1971, handing the agency billions of dollars to address its repair backlog, modernize its fleet and reduce trip times. The $66 billion in new funding for rail could also fuel Amtrak’s expansion in its routes across the country, an elusive goal that could generate millions more in revenue for the agency and extend its network to new areas.
“This is a fundamental change,” said John Robert Smith, a former Amtrak board chairman and the chairman of Transportation for America, an advocacy group. “They’ve never had anything comparable to this.”
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