Thanks to federal funding from the 2021 infrastructure act, the agency plans to triple its investment in infrastructure improvements and new routes in the next two years.
According to a Smart Cities Dive brief by Dan Zukowski, Amtrak plans to triple its infrastructure investment over the next two years, focusing federal funding from the 2021 infrastructure law on tunnels, bridges, new routes, and increased service on existing routes.
“Earlier this year, Amtrak began work on a new $4.5 billion tunnel to replace the Civil War-era Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, and the Federal Railroad Administration committed nearly $7 billion to the long-delayed Hudson River Tunnel project — both key projects along the Northeast Corridor. Other major projects serving that Boston-Washington, D.C. corridor include bridges in New Jersey and Connecticut, and the East River Tunnel and Sunnyside Yard facility in New York City, according to ENR.”
To handle the added workload, “Amtrak hired over 3,700 people and invested $2.3 billion in capital projects in fiscal year 2022, including new trains, according to a company document.”
FULL STORY: Amtrak to triple infrastructure investment over two years
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association