nd Modern By Leah Harnack Amtrak is expanding and modernizing the Acela Express service while adding amenities and improving the ride quality for more comfortable and productive travel. T HE UNITED STATES POPULAtion is expected to grow by 70 million people over the next 30 years, while the majority of that will be concentrated in megaregions. One of those regions is of the busiest stations. It will increase the Northeast, which currently has 17 percent of the U.S. population in 2 percent of the land area. From Boston, through New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore to Washington, D.C., the Northeast Corridor (NEC) is the busiest rail line in the United States. Th e 457-mile corridor carries 750,000 trips each day, which is almost half of all passenger rail trips nationwide. Running through eight states, the corridor supports eight commuter railroads, four freight railroads and Amtrak. Along the corridor, there are seven million jobs within a fi vemile radius of an NEC station; it moves a workforce that contributes $50 billion annually to the GDP. Th e NEC is reaching its limits of capacity and much of the infrastructure is in need of repair, with parts of its electrical and signal systems dating back to the 1930s and some bridges dating back to 1880. Funding the NEC Much of the NEC will see a change with $2.45 billion in federal loans to help pay for upgrades and new trains. It is the largest single loan in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s history. Th e loan is through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program. Th is loan to Amtrak nearly doubles the dollar amount of loans from the RRIF program. Th e loan will be used for upgrades between the New Carrollton and Baltimore stations and station and platform improvements at four 12 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 Acela service frequency, add new trainsets, improved fl eet maintenance facilities to accommodate the new trains, and track capacity and infrastructure improvements. Amtrak has 29 years to pay back the money with repayment beginning no later than 2022 and it will use revenue generated from growth in the NEC to pay it back. “Under the RRIF Program, USDOT can defer debt service payments until the project funded is complete and generating revenue,” Amtrak Senior Vice President for Strategic Rail Initiatives Mark Yachmetz explained of the loan. “In the case of the Trainset Project, this deferral is for six years. By then all of the new Trainsets will be in operation. Th e funds Amtrak will use to meet the debt service on this loan will come from the growth in the operating margin of Amtrak’s Northeast corridor operations. Indeed, our projections show that the net operating revenue from the expanded capacity the trainsets provide will generate suffi cient revenues to repay the loan.” NEC By the Numbers 456 miles 2,200+ daily trains 17.1 million passengers in FY15 6 of the 10 busiest Amtrak stations Limits of Capacity: Expansion a THE ACELA Express travels over the Bush River rail bridge in Maryland. The Acela Express offers hourly service downtown to downtown during peak morning and afternoon rush hours between New York, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and other intermediate cities. Amtrak
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