The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has recommended a vision to improve the Northeast Corridor (NEC) over the next 30 years. The recommendation prioritizes bringing the current corridor back to a state of good repair before making any improvements.
In 2012, Congress urged all Northeast states and the FRA to begin working together to develop a vision that would help guide and coordinate planning and investments in the NEC. The Northeast states and the FRA have engaged stakeholders about their recommendations and concerns on the future of the NEC.
“The Department of Transportation believes that investing in this vision for the Northeast Corridor must happen—because rail does more than take us places; it provides us with opportunities and connects us to the future,” stated U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “While building this recommendation would require significant investment, the cost of doing nothing is much greater. The communities and the economies of the Northeast cannot grow and flourish without significant, new investment.”
The FRA recommended the following improvements to the corridor:
- Adding new tracks to increase the NEC to four tracks in most locations. Additional tracks would be added to areas with greater demand;
- Providing intercity access to Philadelphia Airport so that passengers do not have to change trains at 30th Street;
- Adding direct and frequent service to Hartford, Conn., and Springfield, Mass.; and
- Increasing, and in some cases doubling, the number of regional trains and providing up to five times more intercity trains.
The FRA believes investing in these improvements would decrease travel time from Boston to New York City by 45 minutes and travel time from New York City to Washington, D.C. by 35 minutes.
The FRA noted that it will now be up to states, cities and railroads to take next steps and decide whether to move forward with any specific projects. Each individual project will require more review and environmental studies, as well as significant funding.
“In order to keep moving forward, we need a new vision for the Northeast Corridor – a corridor that can move an ever-increasing population safer, faster and more reliably than before,” remarked FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg.
“We need a corridor that provides more options and more trains for commuters,” said Feinberg. “One that allows for seamless travel between the nation’s capital and New York, and New York and Providence and Boston. A corridor that provides streamlined connections between a city’s airports and its city center. And a corridor that can efficiently and reliably serve a population that is growing quickly.”