15-year plan to rebuild the Northeast Corridor rail network released

A $136-billion plan on the state-of-good-repair and improvement of the Northeast Corridor rail network was released on November 16 by the Northeast Corridor Commission.

Furthermore, the 15-year plan is called CONNECT NEC 2023 (C37) and its total budget is expected to reach $176 billion if adjusted for in year-of-expenditure inflation and is fully funded.

As for the Northeast Corridor itself, it is a rail network between Boston and Washington D.C., the nation’s most densely populated area, featuring a $3 trillion economy.

Roughly 40% of the project’s funding is expected to come from existing or expected federal, state, and local sources, while on November 6, the Biden administration announced the allocation of $16.4 billion in repair projects within the Corridor.

Part of this funding came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is expected to play a very important role in this project’s realization.

The state-of-good-repair project will improve and restore aging infrastructure, that in some cases is more than a century old, as well as creating about 756,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region.

In addition to the aforementioned, the plan is expected to increase Northeast Corridor’s commuter train capacity by 60%, reduce travel times, cut greenhouse gas emissions (as train transportation is more environmentally friendly than car or aviation), and accommodate an additional 51 million passengers each year, among other benefits.

Finally, it would allow for 50% more Amtrak trains between Boston and New York, and 100% more between New York and Washington D.C.