Press Releases

 President Biden announced $8.2 billion in new funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including $28 million for improvements of the Downeaster corridor in Maine, connecting Boston, Massachusetts, to Brunswick, Maine. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) strongly supported the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and helped pass the historic legislation last Congress, and today welcomed the news.

“Thanks to the historic investments ushered in by the transformative Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Biden is delivering on his vision to rebuild America and ensure our infrastructure not only meets the needs of 21st Century travelers, but fights climate change as well,” said Pingree. “The Downeaster is one of the best performing regional Amtrak passenger rails in the country – with over a half of a million people choosing to ride the train in the last year alone. The significant investments announced today will greatly improve the highly traveled Boston to Brunswick line, ensuring safe and climate-friendly travel options, creating jobs, and boosting economic activity in surrounding communities.”

The grants awarded are as follows

$27,492,000 for the Downeaster Corridor Track Improvement Project for development, final design, and construction activities for various track-related improvements on the mainline from Brunswick, Maine to the Massachusetts state line. The project aligns enhances safety, service performance, and competitiveness, as the improvements will help maintain a state of good repair, reducing the need to impose slow orders on the Amtrak Downeaster service that would result in delays and longer transit times. The project will also help support planned future service expansions.

$500,000 for the Downeaster Corridor project to improve the existing Amtrak Downeaster corridor—connecting Boston to Brunswick via Portland, southwestern coastal Maine and southeastern New Hampshire, with an extension east to Rockland. The proposed Corridor would also include added frequencies, reduced travel times, improved reliability, a new infill station at West Falmouth, Maine, and technology improvements to make it easier for passengers to connect between the Downeaster and other Amtrak services in Boston (where the Downeaster serves a different station from all other Amtrak routes). 

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Pingree has been working to ensure the annual government funding bills support full funding for Amtrak and passenger rail programs, such as the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

Other key selected projects announced today include: building a new high-speed rail system between California and Nevada, which will serve more than 11 million passengers annually; creating a high-speed rail line through California’s Central Valley to ultimately link Los Angeles and San Francisco, supporting travel with speeds up to 220 mph; delivering significant upgrades to frequently-traveled rail corridors in Virginia, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia; and upgrading and expanding capacity at Chicago Union Station in Illinois, one of the nation’s busiest rail hubs. These historic projects will create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, unlock economic opportunity for communities across the country, and open up safe, comfortable, and climate-friendly travel options to get people to their destinations in a fraction of the time it takes to drive.

Today’s investment includes $8.2 billion through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program, as well as $34.5 million through the Corridor Identification and Development program to guide passenger rail development on 69 rail corridors across 44 states, ensuring that intercity rail projects are ready for implementation. 

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