The Northeast and MidAtlantic States Major Investors in Intercity Passenger Rail

What Are the States Doing To Support Intercity Passenger Rail?

NEC Feeder Lines

• The newly restored Downeaster service from Boston to Portland reflects joint investment in track and station improvements by the Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and local governments, in partnership with Amtrak and the federal government. Maine helps defray the operating cost of the train.
   
• Vermont owns substantial portions of rail rights-of-way as part of the state’s rail preservation program. It invests in track, signal, bridge and grade crossing improvements in the state used by Amtrak’s Vermonter and Ethan Allen service to link Vermont communities to New York City and points south. Vermont also helps defray the operating costs of these trains.
   
• New York’s substantial investment in tracks, stations, signal systems, bridges and grade crossings on the Empire Corridor has created the nation’s only high speed passenger service off the Northeast Corridor. In upstate New York, the state has also invested in station, signal and track improvements on freight-owned right-of-way that serves the Adirondack service to Montreal. On the Empire Corridor, Metro-North Railroad has the primary responsibility for operations support of infrastructure used by Amtrak on the publicly owned right-of-way between New York City and Poughkeepsie.
   
• Pennsylvania has committed funds for station, track, communication, signals, grade crossing and other infrastructure improvements which, with joint Amtrak investment, will make the Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg a sealed corridor with speeds of 110 miles per hour. The track catenary will be upgraded, and electric trains are scheduled to be reintroduced on the corridor in 2002. The state also provides operating assistance for Keystone service, while SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) contributes to infrastructure maintenance costs through payments for use of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Corridor.
   
• Virginia, in cooperation with CSX and Amtrak, is making a series of investments in improvements to tracks, bridges, grade crossings and stations which, when completed, will expand the capacity of the Richmond-Washington, D.C. corridor to support higher speed intercity service as well as more commuter and freight service. Virginia Railway Express (VRE) also contracts with Amtrak for commuter service to Washington, DC.