Overhauling Amtrak

[Randomguy34]

Amtrak might be split up into three different entities

https://www.railpassengers.org/happening...tement-on-proposed-amtrak-restructuring/

[Glow Fun City]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

Amtrak might be split up into three different entities

https://www.railpassengers.org/happening...tement-on-proposed-amtrak-restructuring/

What would this accomplish, exactly?

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by Glow Fun City

What would this accomplish, exactly?

So "you know who" can sell away our infrastructure.

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

So "you know who" can sell away our infrastructure.

You mean corrupt serpent motherfucker in the White House? Trump? You can say his name. He's wrecking the country and we've got mods that want to police whether or not his name can be mentioned in a relevant thread.

Additionally, Bloomberg covered expressions of concern from a leading labor organization that the potential restructuring could lead to the eventual privatization of Amtrak’s operations

[202_Cyclist]

If we can find $200B to blow things up in the Middle East, hopefully we can find $1B to improve mobility in our nation's densest corridor.

MassDOT In Talks With Connecticut for Hourly Springfield-NYC Amtrak Service
Expanded service between New York and Springfield is contingent on numerous big-ticket infrastructure projects, many of which are still years away from construction.


By Christian MilNeil
March 19, 2026
Streetsblog

"In a detailed update to MassDOT's board of directors Wednesday afternoon, Meredith Slesinger, the agency's Rail and Transit Administrator, revealed that Massachusetts and Connecticut are in talks to significantly expand Amtrak service between Springfield and New York City.

Slesinger told board members that MassDOT is "working with Amtrak and Connecticut to develop a service plan that would expand Springfield to New York service to operate hourly, and that would increase annual ridership on the corridor by a projected one million passengers."

To put that ridership number in context, western Massachusetts Amtrak stations currently serve about 230,000 trips a year on Amtrak's Vermonter, Valley Flyer, and Hartford Line routes. Most of those trains currently end their trips in New Haven..."

https://mass.streetsblog.org/2026/03/19/...or-hourly-springfield-nyc-amtrak-service

[TowerDude]

Amtrak/CT/MA need to fully electrify the route from Springfield to NYC

[202_Cyclist]

$112 barrel oil and Mafia Don is gutting funding for passenger rail.

https://bsky.app/profile/yonahfreemark.com/post/3milxkckdfc2g

[202_Cyclist]

$402M Overhaul Planned For Union Station Platforms, Tunnel


by Dereen Shirnekhi
April 17, 2026
New Haven Independent


Rendering courtesy of the New Haven Independent.

"The state plans to invest $402 million in building new and lengthened platforms, an over-arching canopy system, and changes to the pedestrian tunnel between the main station and the tracks at Union Station.

The state unveiled those plans this week. The project’s announcement comes months after the state Department of Transportation (DOT) also announced a $113 million plan to replace and extend the platform at State Street train station and relatedly convert the Court Street bridge to pedestrian only.

The work will include replacing the four existing, “aging” platforms at Union Station; constructing one big, over-arching canopy structure and atrium over all tracks; and remodeling the tunnel that provides a pedestrian passageway between the station and the trains..."

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/2026...nned-for-union-station-platforms-tunnel/

[Nexis4Jersey]

The Platform refresh is needed but the rest isn't and should be spent on completing the remaining Hartford Line upgrades.

[202_Cyclist]

Trump’s Feud With New York Masks Amtrak’s Spending Spree
Advancement of a project in Baltimore shows how the railway is navigating the president’s second term.

By Ted Mann
May 2, 2026
Bloomberg

"President Donald Trump’s long-running feud with New York over the $16 billion Gateway tunnel masks a turn of events that even executives at Amtrak didn’t see coming: The administration is largely staying out of the way as the railroad undertakes a building spree unmatched in its more than 50-year history.


While the showdown over Gateway drags on, government-owned Amtrak is flush with some $33 billion it received for capital projects under the Biden-era bipartisan infrastructure law — funding that survived DOGE — and is putting that cash to work.

The latest evidence of that is in Baltimore. After months of negotiations, Amtrak and its construction partners have agreed to cut $1 billion out of what is expected to be a more than $6 billion rail tunnel beneath the city, a concession that clears the way for a project critical to rail travelers across the region. With that, Amtrak this week green-lit its tunneling contractor to begin mobilizing the boring machines that will replace the 153-year-old Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, a dilapidated structure the company calls the worst bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor, a potential “single point of failure” for 15 million riders.."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/...QXP8-1MhCd4SNs&leadSource=uverify%20wall

[Muji]

Amtrak Debuts North America’s First Passenger Rail Preclearance Facility

Amtrak press release
June 10, 2016

Vancouver, B.C. facility now offers U.S. preclearance, simplifying cross-border travel on Amtrak Cascades

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Amtrak marked a milestone in North American passenger rail today as customers traveling from Vancouver, B.C. on the Amtrak Cascades can now complete U.S. preclearance before boarding. The new experience at Pacific Central Station creates a more streamlined experience for customers traveling into the United States.

While preclearance has long been available at select airports, Pacific Central Station becomes the first rail station in North America to offer this capability, representing a new chapter for rail travel.

[...]

Link: https://media.amtrak.com/2026/06/amtrak-...st-passenger-rail-preclearance-facility/

[Six Corners]

Delightful. Though having taken the Amtrak Cascades roundtrip from Seattle to Vancouver last year, I recall the process for getting into Canada was much more time consuming than returning to the US.

Also, all of the track switches into Pacific Central are manually operated, so an Amtrak employee had to jump out of the train at each one to switch tracks, which was also quite time consuming.