Northeast Railroad Expansion Proposal Still Subject To State, Federal Approval

The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed a major expansion of the Northeast rail corridor from Washington, D.C. through Providence and Boston. The plan would cost an estimated $120 billion, to build new tracks, new lines, and more trains.

The FRA says most of the railways on the line should be expanded from two to four tracks, and it calls for direct and frequent service to Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts.

The plan would also increase the number of daily trains between New York City and Boston from 19 to nearly 100, and allow for trains that could reach speeds of up to 220 miles an hour. They says that could cut travel time between the two cities by up to an hour each way.

The FRA says the plan would create 47,000 jobs a year for the next 30 years. The plan still needs the support of the eight states involved, and president-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants to spend up to a trillion dollars on infrastructure nationwide over the next ten years.

Read more: http://ripr.org/post/northeast-railroad-expansion-proposal-still-subject-state-federal-approval