The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration recently laid out a list of priority projects in the Northeast Corridor.
According to a Nov. 16 news release, the FRA published the Northeast Corridor Project Inventory which lists priority projects for intercity passenger rail development on the NEC, a railroad line that spans from Boston to Washington, D.C.
“Modernizing and expanding the NEC through a transparent and well-organized approach will mean faster trips, fewer disruptions, improved safety and an overall better experience for the hundreds of thousands of riders who depend on the corridor daily,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in the release. “The NEC Project Inventory will allow FRA, states and stakeholders to fully capitalize on the transformative opportunities afforded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by clearly defining our rail development goals and targeting investments where they are most needed.”
The priority list will be used to guide improvement and development of the region’s rail network and create a project pipeline to help provide long-term planning to stakeholders that will improve service, according to the release. The inventory will also be used to guide up to $24 billion in FRA funding invested through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program.
The NEC Project Inventory lists 68 projects which will improve the reliability, frequency and quality of passenger rail services in the NEC, the release reported. These projects include 15 major backlog projects and 53 capital renewal, stations and improvement projects.
A decades-long underinvestment in the country’s infrastructure by replacing and rehabilitating vital rail assets while also planning for major rail station upgrades and expansions will be reversed with the project. According to the release, these investments will improve the rider experience and provide customers with even more flexible transportation options by increasing the reliability, frequency and quality of passenger rail services
As America's busiest intercity passenger rail corridor, the NEC is crucial to the economy. NEC serves 800,000 passengers daily pre-pandemic and spans an area that accounts for 20% of the national GDP, according to the release.
