In what is sure to be welcome news for our region’s train ridership, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced yesterday that the Northeast Corridor will be getting $745 million for rail upgrades.
In the short term, the money will go towards upgrading electrical systems, making trains run closer to schedule, and adding more ways to alleviate delays getting in and out of New York Penn Station. In the long term, Acela trains will run on improved tracks with top speeds up to 186 MPH (currently they run at 135, which will soon increase to 160).
The projects are expected to generate 12,000 jobs. Pre-construction work between Trenton and New York City will begin in late 2011, with initial construction commencing in 2012.