He was known as Amtrak Joe, and now that he’s leaving the White House, President Joe Biden is pumping over a billion dollars back into the rails of the Northeast Corridor.
The $1.5 billion will help fund 19 different projects in the near and long term between D.C. and Connecticut, much of it technical infrastructure.
Union Station in D.C. alone will be receiving more than $80 million in funding. Most of that money will be toward what are described as safety and operational improvements. Some of the funding will also be used to replace an Amtrak police facility and build a new digital technology communications room.
Up to $24 million will also be set aside for the long-term rehabilitation project at Union Station — a drop in the bucket since it currently has a $10 billion overall estimate attached to it.
D.C. Council member and Council of Governments Chair Charles Allen called the news “fantastic” and said it’s a longstanding, regional priority.
“Union Station’s expansion is a once-in-century investment,” Allen said in a statement. “It is as important to our region as our airports.”
The federal funding, which comes from the infrastructure package Biden signed in 2021, also includes more than $120 million for final design and construction inside Baltimore’s Penn Station, which is also slated for an overhaul.
More than $110 million more will help Amtrak fix wiring and signals on the tracks that run through Maryland from Union Station to Baltimore.
