PHILADELPHIA — Federal railroad regulators endorsed an ambitious and costly plan to rebuild the congested Northeast Corridor over the next 30 years by shoring up crumbling infrastructure, running more trains and building new tracks that would allow speeds of up to 220 mph on a stretch of the Washington-Boston route.
The Federal Railroad Administration’s plan unveiled Friday aims to cut down on delay-causing bottlenecks and increase capacity and reliability by upgrading outdated bridges and tunnels — including ones into New York City that are more than a century old — and realigning tracks to eliminate speed-restricting curves.
The FRA estimates the $120 billion plan would cut travel times between Washington and New York by 35 minutes, to about 2 hours and 10 minutes, on the fastest trains and save 45 minutes to an hour on trips between Boston and New York, which now take close to 4 hours.
Amtrak’s Stephen Gardner, who’s in charge of business operations on the corridor, said the plan affirms the railroad’s “long-held view that rebuilding and expanding the Northeast Corridor is essential for the growth and prosperity of the entire region.”
The FRA’s plan is the first comprehensive look at the future of the 500-mile corridor, which handles about 2,200 trains and 750,000 passengers each day on commuter and intercity trains.
Now it’s up to the states, railroads and President-elect Donald Trump to give their approvals and figure out which aspects of the plan to prioritize. Elsewhere, work has begun on some projects incorporated into the FRA’s plan. They include a $20 billion project to build new, expanded tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey and a $4 billion project to replace a 143-year-old tunnel in Baltimore.
Among other provisions in the plan: a new Amtrak stop at Philadelphia’s airport, eliminating the need for some travelers to reach the city and switch to a commuter train; increased service to parts of southern New England; and a new level of service that makes stops at a variety of commuter rail stations and major city hubs. Straighter tracks would enable trains to reach 220 mph between Baltimore and Wilmington, Del. The fastest trains on the system currently top out at 150 mph, with a project underway to boost that to 160 mph near Trenton, N.J.