President Biden on Monday was set to travel to his home state of Delaware to announce a new $16.4 billion investment in passenger rail on the Northeast Corridor.
The new funding will go toward 25 passenger rail projects between Boston and Washington, with funding coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed in 2021.
“The investments announced today 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 White House said in a statement.
It added, “Combined with Amtrak’s nearly $9 billion fleet replacement program, which will replace over 1,000 locomotives and coaches with state-of-the art and Made-in-America equipment, these investments will ensure that train service is more convenient and climate-friendly than either driving or flying.”
According to the White House, the new funding will also contribute to “more than 100,000 good-paying union jobs in construction.”
Biden is set to formally announce the new funding during a visit to the Amtrak Bear Maintenance Shops in Bear, Delaware, about 12 miles outside Wilmington.
During his 36 years a a U.S. Senator, Biden famously commuted between Wilmington and Washington on a daily basis. He claims to have logged more than a million miles on Amtrak during his political career.
According to the White House, Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor serves about 800,000 travelers daily—five times more passengers than all flights between Washington and New York City—making it the busiest rail corridor in the U.S., across a region of the country that represents about 20% of the nation’s GDP.
PHOTO: Amtrak Acela in New Haven, CT, per Adam E. Moreira
Read more exclusive news from Political IQ.
