Northeast rail corridor wins $16.4 billion in federal funds

The Biden administration Monday announced $16.4 billion for dozens of infrastructure projects aimed at improving train times and efficiency across Amtrak’s Northeast rail corridor.

Biden is set to highlight the investment today during a speech in Delaware.

The largest grant, totaling $4.7 billion, goes to Maryland to replace the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, considered the largest rail bottleneck between Washington, D.C. and New Jersey. The current tunnel’s “tight curvature and steep incline requires trains to reduce speeds to 30 miles per hour,” the White House said. The new tunnel, with a $6 billion price tag, will allow trains to travel up to 110 mph and reduce delays across the entire corridor. Amtrak and the Maryland Transit Administration will provide $1.2 billion in matching funds.

The massive New York-New Jersey Gateway Hudson River Tunnel project won $3.8 billion. The project will build a new two-track tunnel under the river for Amtrak and commuter trains and repair the existing 112-year-old tunnel. The price tag totals $17.2 billion and with the latest federal grant, federal investment so far totals $11 billion, according to the White House. New York and New Jersey are expected to evenly split the remaining 50% of costs. 

“For a long time now, the Gateway project has been my passion,” said Senate Major Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the project’s chief Congressional cheerleader. “And after many false starts and obstacles placed in our way, Gateway is full speed ahead with billions in federal dollars.”

The Northeast corridor, which runs from Boston to Washington, D.C., is the most heavily traveled rail corridor in the U.S., with 800,000 trips a day.

The money comes from the Northeast Corridor Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program, which includes $22.4 billion between 2022 and 2026.

The current round of grants includes $9 billion in fiscal 2022 and 2023 and $7.4 billion in future commitments. The administration received 35 applications for $17.8 billion in funding, and selected 25 projects that will benefit eight states, the White House said.

Maryland’s Susquehanna River Rail Bridge will receive $2.1 billion to fund new spans, and New York’s Penn Station Access will receive $1.6 billion to repair 19 miles of the Amtrak-owned Hell Gate Line among other projects.

The grants also fund two planning studies, one to examine ways to increase speeds between Washington, D.C., and New York City and one to study infrastructure options to improve train speeds and capacity through Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The administration is expected later this year to announce grants for the non-Northeast projects, which include high-speed rail projects on the West Coast.

The announcements come as the House Friday delayed a vote on a controversial fiscal 2024 Transportation-Housing of Urban Development bill that would cut Amtrak funding by $1.5 billion. A handful of Republicans from the northeast are opposed to the cuts. A vote on the bill could come this week.