WASHINGTON – Amtrak has awarded design-build contracts and begun pre-construction activities for three rail yard modernization projects on the Northeast Corridor, which officials said will help improve service reliability and enable more efficient, world-class train maintenance.
In a release, Amtrak officials said new and upgraded facilities in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., will support modern, state-of-the-art Airo and NextGen Acela trains.
Combined with two similar projects already under construction in Philadelphia and Seattle, and another in planning for Rensselaer/Albany, New York, these investments will support Amtrak’s continued ridership growth.
While not visible to guests on their Amtrak journey, officials said the upgrades are necessary to support new Airo trains arriving on more than a dozen routes over the coming years. Each train will be operated as a single “trainset,” rather than individual railcars. The new rail yard facilities will help create a consistent maintenance system that improves efficiencies and reduces turnaround times during repairs or inspections, while also improving safety and overall working conditions for employees.
At Boston’s Southampton Yard, an SPS New England-Railroad Construction Company (RCC) Joint Venture will design and construct a new maintenance facility and renovate existing facilities to support Northeast Regional, Acela, and Long Distance trains that operate out of this yard, connecting with cities such as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Richmond.
Improvements include the construction of a new two-track Maintenance & Inspection facility and the renovation of the existing two-track regional Service and Inspection facility into a two-track Service & Cleaning facility.
Work will be conducted in phases, with full project completion expected in 2029.
At New York City’s Sunnyside Yard, a Scalamandre-Citnalta Joint Venture will design and construct new maintenance, inspection, and servicing facilities – as well as other related upgrades – to support Northeast Regional, Acela, Long Distance, and commuter trains that operate out of this yard, connecting with cities such as Albany, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Miami, and New Orleans.
Improvements include the construction of a new two-track Maintenance & Inspection facility, the construction of six new Service and Cleaning tracks with canopy coverage and the consolidation of commissary, employee workspace, material storage, and parking into a single location within the yard, including an efficient modular office compound.
It will also bring 11 existing service platforms to a state of good repair, required to clean/prepare trains for passenger service and store trainsets when not in operation. Other infrastructure upgrades to accommodate this work, including the reconfiguration of two major interlockings and tracks connecting the yard to the NEC
Work will be conducted in phases, with full project completion expected in 2030.
At Washington’ Ivy City Yard, a Clark-Herzog Joint Venture will design, construct, and renovate new and existing maintenance and servicing facilities to support Northeast Regional (including the state-supported Amtrak Virginia service), Acela, Long Distance and commuter trains that operate out of this yard, connecting with cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Charlotte, Savannah, Miami, New Orleans, and Chicago.
Improvements include the construction of three new exterior Service & Cleaning tracks with canopy coverage, the renovation of two existing two-track maintenance facilities to include a new drop table and the replacement of the existing water main infrastructure within and around the yard, which provides flexibility to serve multiple trainsets across the various facilities
Work will be conducted in phases, with full project completion expected in 2030.
