Amtrak is investing $122 million in Pennsylvania to improve tracks on the Harrisburg Line, between Lancaster and Harrisburg. This work will improve ride quality and comfort, increase service reliability and complete the necessary work required to keep the tracks in a state of good repair.
“Amtrak is making historic infrastructure investments through projects like this one, which will replace obsolete 1950s-era rail infrastructure which is at the end of its useful life,” said Amtrak Executive Vice President of Capital Delivery Laura Mason. “We’re taking a fresh approach and expediting this important project with a combination of single and full track outages that will improve work efficiencies and reduce the duration of customer impacts.”
Amtrak is accelerating the project to replace this aging rail infrastructure and will complete the work in nearly half the original two-year estimated timeline. To extend the project’s long-term benefits, Amtrak will replace the existing wood ties with concrete ties, which have an expected lifespan of 60 years vs. 25 years for traditional wood ties.
The project began on March 15 and will require a series of significant track outages from April 8 to Nov. 21. During that period, Keystone Service trains between Lancaster and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will be replaced with buses from approximately 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Various schedule adjustments will also be made Friday through Sunday and weekday mornings and evenings. Customers should check Amtrak.com or the Amtrak mobile app for the latest schedules.
Amtrak Pennsylvanian trains that operate between Pittsburgh and New York City will still provide daily midday service through the project area, featuring additional seating capacity. The weekday service cancellations will affect fewer than 450 daily Keystone Service customers, and substitute transportation (buses) will be provided to mitigate the impact. After the significant track outage concludes, overall project completion is expected in late December.
