The House approved $500 million in funding to help repair and maintain one of the country’s most important rail corridors on Friday, thanks to the efforts of U.S. Reps. Ryan Costello and Patrick Meehan, both Pennsylvania Republicans.
Costello and Meehan called for $500 million in funding to be directed to the Northeast Corridor (NEC) through the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair grant program in a letter sent to leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development earlier this month.
The House approved the funding request on Friday as part of the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act. The funding would support repairs of existing assets along the busy rail corridor.
“This funding is vital to making sure Pennsylvanians travel safely and that businesses utilizing the Northeast Corridor are not negatively impacted from the corridor’s disrepair,” Costello said. “I also thank Congressman Meehan for his work in partnering with me to help to secure this funding for our constituents.”
The Northeast Corridor supports more than 750,000 individual trips along the East Coast each day. However, the corridor’s state of good repairs backlog totals an estimated $38 billion, according to the Northeast Corridor Commission’s 2017 annual report.
Amtrak and New Jersey Transit have said the corridor’s rail infrastructure will fail without major repairs, according to a letter Costello and Meehan sent to leaders of the Appropriations subcommittee in April.
“Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is a critical artery that connects our region with New York, Washington and other cities along the eastern seaboard,” Meehan said. “Every day, thousands of residents in our area make use of the Northeast Corridor for business and personal travel. This funding will help ensure they’re able to do so efficiently and safely.”
The letter from the lawmakers also noted that “… the loss of the NEC for a single day could cost the country $100 million in added congestion, productivity losses, and other transportation impacts,” according to the Northeast Corridor Commission.
“I’m grateful to my colleagues for including this funding in the House-passed spending bill and I’m pleased to work with Rep. Costello and the other members of our regional delegation to ensure the Northeast Corridor receives the funding it needs,” Meehan said.