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As Biden Pushes Major Rail Investments, Amtrak's 2035 Map Has People Talking

Laurel Wamsley

Amtrak has proposed a plan for new and enhanced rail connections across the United States. Amtrak hide caption

Amtrak has proposed a plan for new and enhanced rail connections across the United States.

When President Biden unveiled his major new infrastructure plan last week, the proposal included much more than fixing crumbling bridges. And for those who wish America had a more robust passenger train network, it gave them something new: hope.

Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure package has two provisions involving passenger rail: $85 billion to modernize public transit (commuter rail, buses, stations, etc.) and $80 billion to improve and expand the nation's passenger and freight rail network.

"You and your family could travel coast to coast without a single tank of gas onboard a high-speed train," Biden said at the plan's unveiling.

But the idea isn't just nice family trips — it's to use improved rail infrastructure and service to alleviate problems such as traffic and air pollution as well as improve access to jobs. Transportation is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

"The American Jobs Plan will build new rail corridors and transit lines, easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute times, and opening up investment in communities that can be connected to the cities, and cities to the outskirts, where a lot of jobs are these days. It'll reduce the bottlenecks of commerce at our ports and our airports," Biden said.

The White House said the rail investment would "address Amtrak's repair backlog; modernize the high traffic Northeast Corridor; improve existing corridors and connect new city pairs; and enhance grant and loan programs that support passenger and freight rail safety, efficiency, and electrification."

Amtrak quickly responded with enthusiasm to Biden's plan, with a map and a vision for what an expanded U.S. rail network would look like by 2035.

The proposed transformation would mean some 30 new routes, and more trips on 20 existing ones. It projects 20 million more people served than the 32 million that rode Amtrak in the 2019 fiscal year.

It shows an array of potential new service lines: new rail connecting all of Texas' biggest cities and new connections across the Midwest, including between Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, and Cleveland. In the Southeast, new routes would stretch from Atlanta to Chattanooga and Nashville, Tenn., Savannah, Ga., and Montgomery, Ala.

There would be service to every state in the contiguous U.S. but South Dakota — a fact that drew the ire of Gov. Kristi Noem, who criticized the infrastructure package.

Amtrak says better rail service means "cleaner air, less traffic, and happier people," and it points to inequality that has resulted from the country's current patchy train service: "Many of the country's biggest and fastest growing metropolitan areas, with diverse populations, don't have the rail service they deserve."

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks to Amtrak employees during a February visit to Union Station in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks to Amtrak employees during a February visit to Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Cities such as Houston, Atlanta and Cincinnati currently have bare-bones Amtrak service, with trains that only stop once a day and often in the middle of the night. Major cities including Las Vegas, Nashville, Columbus and Phoenix don't have any Amtrak service at all.

And that happiness bit? Amtrak notes that in some cities, people spend more than 80 hours a year in traffic. "Population growth will make this much worse without better alternatives like rail," it warns.

Around the country, local news dug into what expanded rail could mean for their communities.

"More direct train service between Raleigh and Richmond — and cities beyond. New passenger lines running to the North Carolina coast and to the state's mountains," Raleigh, N.C.'s The News & Observer wrote .

"Prospects for a passenger rail line connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans got a boost this week," wrote the New Orleans Advocate , noting that the last passenger train to serve Baton Rouge, La., ended service in 1969.

"Amtrak may soon have the cash to install a new rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles," the Reno Gazette-Journal said .

"President Joe Biden's infrastructure improvement plan would bring Amtrak passenger service back to Phoenix for the first time in decades," NPR member station KJZZ noted .

And on Twitter, people started posting the rail lines they'd like to see. Like a direct route from Ohio to Florida.

Before all that can happen, an infrastructure bill will need to get through Congress. The House and Senate are both working on infrastructure bills, which are expected to include what the administration has proposed, but the process is still unclear.

For those eager for alternatives to the car, the historic proposal by a president known for his former daily commute by Amtrak from home in Wilmington, Del., to D.C. is what they've been waiting for.

"President Biden's plan would revolutionize the way Americans travel, finally launching U.S. passengers into the 21st century," said Jim Mathews, president and CEO of the Rail Passengers Association.

Travel latest: 'Still a long way to go yet' in dispute, warns RMT leader as strike action causes more disruption

Latest as a third national rail strike is expected to cause disruption today - but there are hopes that further Tube strikes could be avoided as Sadiq Khan indicates he is against pension cuts.

Saturday 25 June 2022 18:29, UK

Key points: 

• More disruption expected today amid third national rail walkout 
• 'Extremely likely' there will be more strikes after this week, RMT says
• Sadiq Khan offers hope of end to Tube strikes
• Podcast: Are we set for a summer of strikes?
• Ed Conway: What can chancellor do on wages?

A Labour MP has donated £2,000 to the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union's strike fund.

Nadia Whittome, who is MP for Nottingham East, pledged to share her salary with local causes when she was elected. 

According to ITV, she takes home £35,000 per year after tax, donating the remainder.

"These rail workers are leading the way for all workers," Ms Whittome said. 

"They're the ones who need a pay rise, not MPs." 

Fans attending Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics tour at Wembley Stadium on Saturday began their journeys to London as early as 2am on Friday morning due to the impact of the rail strike on the event.

Carol and Norman Wheeldon, 59, left home in Powys, Wales at 2am on Friday morning to ensure they made it to the concert.

The couple’s had booked a train to London on Friday but it was cancelled just over a week ago due to the strike, so they decided to travel almost 200 miles by car.

"We booked with Trainline and then a week ago we found out they weren’t running, so they gave us a full refund and we’ve had to travel down by car," Mrs Wheeldon said.

She added: "Actually it was very, very easy. Our children put in the codes for us on the car Satnav and it was brilliant. Took us exactly to the car park.”

The couple stayed in a central London hotel overnight before completing their journey by Tube.

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said he stands in "solidarity" with the RMT and railway workers as he called on people to "follow your conscience".

He said: "All they're asking for is just protection against the cost-of-living crisis, they want to negotiate so that there are no compulsory redundancies and they're willing to adapt to changes in the rail industry they always have done but it's got to be done by agreement."

He added that their requests are "perfectly reasonable" and called on the government to "come to the table or allow the employers to come to a settlement". 

Speaking to the PA news agency at a rally, Mr McDonnell said: "I'm on picket line after picket line and so are many Labour MPs.

"Follow your conscience so therefore, for me, that means Labour MPs being on picket lines and it includes Keir Starmer as well coming off the fence, supporting working people because they're not asking for the world."

 The rail strikes are not just being supported by Labour politicians, NHS workers and the GMB union, a number of friendly pups have also joined picket lines to show their support. 

Social media users have been sharing pictures of their dogs taking part in rallies using the hashtag #dogsonpicketlines. 

You can take a look at a few of them below...

 As we told you in our previous post, a rally has been taking place outside King's Cross St Pancras in London. 

Among the demonstrators was Labour MP Diane Abbott. 

Speaking to the crowds, she criticised her party for not picking a side in the dispute. 

"I do not understand the argument that Labour should not be here because we are not meant to pick a side," Ms Aboott said. 

"I thought when you join Labour, you are picking a side, on the working-class side." 

She was joined by RMT president Alex Gordon, who welcomed workers from train stations around London. 

During his remarks, he called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to go.

He said: "He is so hot he has run off to Rwanda."

Hospital workers and cleaners with the GMB general workers' union have joined a rally at King's Cross St Pancras in London to support the rail strikes.

They arrived shouting and holding signs saying: "#endoutsourcing."

RMT president Alex Gordon said through a microphone on the stage: "Welcome, victory to the cleaners."

The rail workers also cheered as the group arrived.

The hospital workers are calling for contractor company Mitie to be removed.

They chanted: "Mitie out," and "Mitie is a thief, Mitie is a liar".

A Twitter thread by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has hit out at "outdated" and "archaic" working practices still used by train operators. 

The government and Network Rail are keen to modernise the UK's railways, but unions argue this will be at the expense of jobs and safety. 

Mr Shapps said the railway network needs to "move with the times", listing off the working practices he said were "holding it back".

For example, he said Sunday working laws haven't been updated since 1919 so some train operators still have to rely on the goodwill of employees to work them. 

He also said maintenance teams are not allowed to cross geographical boundaries to carry out repairs. 

"It means a team based at Euston wouldn’t be able to walk 500 yards to Kings Cross to fix an urgent points failure," he said.

The majority of people believe rail workers have the right to strike when negotiations fail, according to a poll.

The survey of 2,000 people, carried out by Opinium on behalf of the RMT union, found fewer than one in five people supported cuts to staff on trains and stations.

Seven out of 10 said rail workers should have a pay rise that takes into account the cost of living, while 59% believe staff have the right to strike if talks fail.

Three out of five said the government should intervene to make sure rail companies tackle workers' concerns.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the poll showed there was "strong support" for the strikes and "massive public opposition to plans to cut thousands of track, train, and station jobs, and to the government's policy of allowing profiteering from the rail industry."

But National Rail accused the union of taking a "strike first, negotiate later" approach and said the RMT's lead negotiator had "spent more time on telly than at the table this week".

The Department for Transport said in response: "The unions know negotiations over pay and working practices don't happen with the government - they happen with the employers of the people they represent.

"In this case, that's Network Rail and the train operating companies, so even an hour spent talking to ministers would just be time they could be speaking to the people they really need to."

Despite the rail strikes today, notable services still seemed to be operating as usual at Paddington Station in west London this morning. 

Services including Elizabeth Line trains to Reading via Twyford and to Heathrow Terminal 4, and GWR services to Bristol Parkway were still running. 

All trains expected to arrive at Paddington Station until at least 10:54 were listed as being on time, or with five minutes or fewer delay.

More than 12 members of staff were seen at the station, while the usually bustling station had fewer than 100 members of the public sitting waiting for news of when to board services.

However, the picture is not the same across the country. Services are not running in many seaside resorts including Blackpool, Margate and Bournemouth.

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RMT and train operators reach breakthrough in national rail row

Union drafts memo with companies to ballot members on new offer to backdate pay rises and give more job guarantees

The RMT union has reached a possible deal with train operators to resolve their long-running national rail dispute, allaying fears of a repeat of last year’s Christmas strikes .

The union, which represents 20,000 crew and station staff, has drawn up a “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) with employers to ballot members at train operating companies over a deal that would backdate the 2022 pay rise and extend guarantees over jobs until the end of 2024.

Rail unions have staged intermittent strikes since June last year, and the RMT called almost a month of industrial action across the 14 English train operators over last Christmas and New Year.

The union agreed a deal worth 9% for members at track owner Network Rail in March , but it rejected the similar pay offer from operators around the same time.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the RMT and the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), the body representing train operators, said: “If accepted, this MOU will terminate the national dispute mandate, creating a pause and respite from industrial action over the Christmas period and into spring next year, while allowing for these important negotiations on proposed reforms to take place at local train operating company level through the established collective bargaining structures.

“These discussions would be aimed at addressing the companies’ proposals on the changing needs and expectations of passengers as well as unlocking further increases for staff, in order to help to secure a sustainable, long-term future for the railway and all those who work on it.”

The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: “This is a welcome development and our members will now decide in an e-referendum whether they want to accept this new offer from the RDG.”

Speaking on ITV1’s Peston, Lynch said strikes will be called off for six months if his members accept the latest pay deal.

“It will go into negotiations starting next February, and that will go on until April,” he said.

“So we’ve got six months of downtime if you like, a pause, and what we’ve also got is the ability to negotiate on those issues rather than have them imposed.”

He also told the programme that the RMT would put the new pay deal offer to members because it has no conditions on it but cannot recommend the offer as it is below the rate of inflation.

“So we’ve got an unconditional offer, but the offer is still way below the rate of inflation, which is why we can’t recommend it,” he said.

“There will be a lot of back pay for our members because they haven’t had a pay rise for so long, and we’ve still got to deal with pay issues for this year, for the 2023 year, and for the next year which is coming up quickly over the horizon.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We welcome the RMT putting this fair and reasonable offer to its members in a referendum, marking a positive step towards resolving this dispute.

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“The Rail Delivery Group’s offer guarantees no compulsory redundancies and a fair pay rise, while ensuring we can take forward much-needed reform to secure the future of our railways.

“We hope RMT members will recognise the benefits, accept this offer and put an end to the RMT’s industrial action.”

The pay deal is understood to have not changed substantively since it was rejected by the union’s national executive.

However, the government has since U-turned on the planned closure of ticket offices , which the RMT had described as “a fig leaf for redundancies”, and possibly easing negotiations in the dispute. The aborted plan would have resulted in almost all of England’s remaining 1,007 ticket offices closing in the next few years.

The union is expected to make no recommendation on whether to accept or reject the deal, as with the Network Rail ballot that saw members vote to end the strike. The 2022 pay rise would be implemented immediately but increases for 2023 would depend on local negotiations.

Further strikes cannot be ruled out as the train drivers’ union Aslef remains in dispute with the RDG. An Aslef spokesperson said: “We’re delighted to hear of an RMT deal but we haven’t heard from the RDG since April or the government since January. We’d love to negotiate with them but they haven’t approached us.”

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London travel news LIVE: Updates as disruption hits rush-hour trains between Waterloo and Clapham Junction

LIVE – Updated at 08:45

Trains between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction are expected to be disrupted during the evening rush-hour until 6pm.

National Rail says all lines towards Clapham Junction are now open, following a fault on a train near Vauxhall.

But train services may still be cancelled, delayed or revised, with disruption predicted to continue until 6pm.

All suburban services from London Waterloo are not calling at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction and Earlsfield until further notice,” says National Rail.

Meanwhile passengers travelling from Waterloo or Vauxhall to Clapham Junction, are asked to use services for Reading and Windsor.

Follow latest updates below.

Severe delays on Elizabeth line

Severe delays between Paddington and Reading/Heathrow due to overhead line problems in the Ealing Broadway area.

Van fire closes A3 southbound

The Southbound A3 from South Lane to Tolworth Roundabout has been closed due to a van fire causing lengthy tailbacks.

Delays on Elizabeth line

Minor delays are being reported on the Elizabeth line by Transport for London between Paddington and Reading /Heathrow due to overhead line problems in the Ealing Broadway area.

M25 closures tonight

Drivers have been warned there will be closures on the M25 tonight.

National Highways Southeast said the road would be closed anti-clockwise from junction six to junction five and clockwise from junction seven to junction eight between 10pm and 5am Wednesday.

A five-mile section of the road in Surrey was closed last weekend.

Disruption hits trains between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction until 6pm

Trains between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction are expected to be disruption throughout the evening rush-hour, until 6pm.

Lines towards Clapham Junction blocked, disruption expected until 4pm

Due to a fault on a train between Vauxhall and Clapham Junction some lines towards Clapham Junction are blocked, says South Western Railway.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised, it warns. Disruption is expected until 4pm.

Fire alert at Notting Hill Gate caused by nearby bonfire

The London Fire Brigade has said it responded to reports of a smell of smoke at Notting Hill Gate Underground Station.

Firefighters conducted a search and found the smell was coming from a bonfire at a nearby property.

The Brigade was called at 12.07pm and the incident was over for firefighters at 12.52pm.

Firefighters from North Kensington fire station attended the scene.

Minor delays to Circle line

There are currently minor delays on the whole line due to an earlier fire alert at Notting Hill Gate.

Change to District line disruption

The District line was part suspended between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road - because of a fire alert at Notting Hill Gate.

It is now severely delayed.

Hammersmith and City Line delays now over

Earlier delays on the Hammersmith and City Line have now ended.

There are minor delays on the Piccadilly Line and DLR, while the District Line is part-suspended.

District Line part-suspended over fire alert

There is currently no District Line service between High Street Kensington and Edgware Road.

TfL says it is responding to a fire alert at Notting Hill Gate.

Minor delays on Hammersmith and City Line

We just reported that a good service had been restored to the Hammersmith and City Line, but TfL now says there are minor delays again due to “a member of staff taken ill on train earlier at Aldgate East”.

Hammersmith and City Line disruption now over

TfL says earlier severe delays on the Hammersmith and City Line are now over, and that a good service is now running across the line.

Euston trains delayed by 'animals on the railway'

Trains running between London Euston and Watford Junction in north-west London may be delayed by up to 15 minutes due to “animals on the railway” around Kensal Green, says TfL.

Minor delays on Central Line and DLR

Earlier severe delays on the Central Line have been downgraded by TfL to ‘minor’. They are affecting services between White City and Ealing Broadway/West Ruislip.

Minor delays are also still affecting the DLR between Stratford and Canary Wharf.

There is a good service on all other TfL lines.

Severe delays on Central Line westbound

There are severe delays westbound on the Central Line between Leytonstone and White City, says TfL.

This is due to a faulty train at Liverpool Street which is reportedly being repaired.

Elizabeth Line and Great Western Railway disruption now expected until 9.30am

Disruption to train services into London, caused by a signalling fault in the Taplow area, is now expected to last until 9.30am, says National Rail.

Services affected are:

• Elizabeth line between Reading and Abbey Wood
• Great Western Railway between Penzance / Paignton / Carmarthen / Weston-super-Mare / Worcester Shrub Hill / Oxford and London Paddington

District Line delays over, DLR delays continue

Delays on the District Line have now ended, says TfL, but minor delays on the DLR between Stratford and Canary Wharf continue.

District Lines delays downgraded to minor

Earlier severe delays on the District Line have been downgraded by TfL to ‘minor’.

The delays are affecting the stretch between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway in both directions, and between Towel Hill and Earl’s Court westbound early.

One lane closed and traffic tailing back on M4 westbound

Traffic is tailing back on the M4 westbound, where one lane is closed due to a crash.

The congestion is affecting the M4 between junction 3 at the A312 The Parkway, for Hayes, and junction 4 for Heathrow and Uxbridge.

Elizabeth Line disruptions expected until 9am

Disruptions are expected to affect the Elizabeth Line right through rush-hour this morning.

A fault with the signalling system at Taplow means trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards London, says National Rail.

As a result, Elizabeth line trains may be cancelled or delayed by up to 15 minutes.

Delays hit commuters on DLR

Minor delays are affecting the DLR this morning, between Stratford and Canary Wharf.

This is due to a faulty train at Poplar, says TfL, which adds there is a good service on the rest of the line.

Severe delays on District Line

There are severe delays on a large stretch of the District Line this morning.

The delays are affecting the section between Earl's Court and Ealing Broadway/Richmond, and are due to an earlier signal failure at Turnham Green, says TfL.

Las Vegas, Nashville, Phoenix and more: Amtrak would expand, connect new cities under Joe Biden's infrastructure plan

How about a train ride from Nashville, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Phoenix to Southern California, or Louisville, Kentucky, to Indianapolis?

Amtrak late Wednesday released a proposed map of new and expanded service if it can land the $80 billion President Joe Biden proposed for the rail service as part of his American Jobs Plan, a massive $2 trillion plan to rebuild the nation's aging infrastructure.

Amtrak's vision calls for bringing new intercity rail service to up to 160 previously unserved communities over the next 15 years, including 30 potential new routes and enhanced services with more daily trips on existing routes.

New service is identified for major cities that currently have no Amtrak service such as Las Vegas, Nashville, Columbus, Ohio, and Phoenix. The cost for each of the projects is unclear.

Amtrak has long been beleaguered by financial woes and desperately needed upgrades, making the quasi-public corporation unable to expand and improve service and causing it to become a regular target of criticism for slow and unreliable service.

A significant portion of funds in Biden's plan would cover a backlog of repairs along Amtrak's heavily used service in the Northeast, where its hub is in Penn Station in Manhattan, the largest transit center in the nation and runs from all points North, South, East and West. 

Economic impact: Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan would lift economy but higher taxes may hamper growth until projects roll out

Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is the busiest railroad in North America, with about 2,200 trains a day over some portion of the Washington-Boston route and about 18 million trips a year, before the COVID-19 pandemic, through its spine of Washington-New York-Boston and connecting corridors to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Massachusetts; Albany, New York; and Richmond, Virginia.

The plan seeks to repair major tunnels and bridges that are mostly a century old along the Northeast Corridor and to rehabilitate stations.

“President Biden’s infrastructure plan is what this nation has been waiting for," Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said in a statement. "Amtrak must rebuild and improve the Northeast Corridor, our National Network and expand our service to more of America."

Amtrak released a broad map Wednesday that showed where new and improved service might go if the money is approved by Congress. The proposals are outlined in Amtrak's "Connect US" plan – a 15-year vision that seeks to add 20 million new Amtrak passengers by 2035. Ridership is currently around 32 million.

New service proposed in Amtrak's plan includes:

• Routes in the South with service connecting Atlanta to Nashville, Chattanooga, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; and Montgomery, Alabama.
• Routes in Wisconsin connecting Milwaukee, Green Bay, Madison and Eau Claire.
• New service out of Indianapolis and connecting to Louisville.
• New routes from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Phoenix to Los Angeles.
• A revamped Texas network including service from Houston to Dallas.
• Routes out of New York to Scranton and Allentown in Pennsylvania and a route from Manhattan to Nassau County on Long Island

"With this federal investment, Amtrak will create jobs and improve equity across cities, regions, and the entire country – and we are ready to deliver," Flynn said

In all, the new routes would bring multiple daily trips to 15 additional states.

Other expanded services would run on the existing lines from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh; New York through Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; San Diego to San Luis Obispo, California; the Northwest corridor through Portland, Oregon, and Seattle; and several expansions and enhancements from Chicago. 

Cities identified for new Amtrak service tend to have rail already in place. But expansion would seemingly require the construction of new stations and other infrastructure. 

Kimberly Woods, a spokeswoman for Amtrak, said exact funding for each of the projects is still undetermined and that "investment is scalable" based on what is approved by Congress.

In a speech Wednesday in Pittsburgh, Biden talked about the need to upgrade the nation's rail system, which he has long been an advocate .

In fact, he had gained the moniker "Amtrak Joe" because he would take the train daily from his Wilmington, Delaware, home to Washington, D.C., as a senator.

"The American Jobs Plan will build new rail corridors and transit lines, easing congestion, cutting pollution, slashing commute times, and opening up investment in communities that can be connected to the cities, and cities to the outskirts, where a lot of jobs are these days," he said Wednesday.

Joey Garrison reports for USA TODAY. Joseph Spector is the Government and Politics Editor for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Group, overseeing coverage in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. He can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter: @GannettAlbany

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FRA Makes More Than $2 Billion in New Funding Available to Continue Improving America’s Busiest Passenger Rail Corridor

Made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, investments will further Biden Administration efforts to repair and rebuild vital infrastructure along the Northeast Corridor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that makes available over $2 billion in Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program funding for projects located on the Northeast Corridor (Fed State-NEC). The corridor supports 800,000 passengers per day and billions of dollars in annual economic activity. Modernizing this critical infrastructure to provide safer, faster and more reliable passenger rail service for travelers and commuters is a key part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. 

The available funding announced today builds on historic Northeast Corridor investments by the Biden-Harris Administration, including funding to advance major projects like the Gateway Program Hudson River Tunnel Project in New York and New Jersey, the Fredrick Douglass Tunnel and Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Programs in Maryland, the Connecticut River Bridge Replacement in Connecticut, the New York Penn Station Access Project, and more. 

“Hundreds of thousands of passengers travel along the Northeast Corridor every day, and the Biden-Harris Administration is funding much-needed improvements to this vital rail corridor,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg . “With over $2 billion becoming available today, we will build on investments initiated last year and continue propelling America’s busiest passenger rail corridor towards greater speed, safety, and reliability.” 

After decades of federal underinvestment, funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law finally has the Northeast Corridor on track to meet the needs of 21st century travelers and commuters. Last year, FRA awarded $16.4 billion for 25 projects of national significance along the corridor, which runs from Boston, MA, to Washington, DC. These unprecedented investments will rebuild tunnels and bridges that are over 100 years old; upgrade tracks, power systems, signals, stations, and other infrastructure; and advance future projects to significantly improve travel times by increasing operating speeds and reducing delays.   

“The President’s investments in rail will be felt by generations to come, beginning with immediate benefits to communities and continuing to ensure essential rail corridors like the Northeast Corridor are modern, safe, and convenient, giving Americans access to world-class passenger service,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose . “We are thrilled to announce the opening of the Fed State-NEC’s notice of funding to applicants within the NEC Project Inventory, streamlining the process for much-needed funding based on demand.”  

Competitive funding through the Fed State-NEC program is guided by FRA’s NEC Project Inventory, which identifies and prioritizes projects along the corridor. The NEC Project Inventory serves as a project pipeline to assist Amtrak, States, and the public in long-term capital planning for the NEC. NEC Projects must be included in the latest version of the inventory to be eligible for Fed State-NEC funding. The latest NEC Project Inventory, which FRA updated last month, can be found here . 

The announcement of today’s NOFO will add to the historic levels of funding in new infrastructure the Biden-Harris Administration has provided to improve rail safety since President Biden took office, allowing the USDOT to continue to ensure the safety of people who live near, work on, or travel along America’s rail lines. Investments in infrastructure and the rail workforce through FRA’s railroad development programs are a major part of this national effort to create a modern transportation network that will keep Americans safe and make the U.S. competitive in the 21st century.  

The NOFO is published in today’s Federal Register here . Applications for funding are due 60 days after this date. Fed State-NEC Program requirements, as well as the evaluation and selection criteria for grant selections are outlined in the NOFO. FRA will also support applicants with web-based training and live technical assistance.  

More information about the Fed State-NEC Program can be found on FRA’s website here .