TRANSPORTATION

Train delays are up from D.C. to Boston. It will not get better soon.

Travelers should expect more disruptions as Amtrak’s fleet ages, heat waves and extreme weather events become more frequent and major infrastructure work kicks in along the route

By Luz Lazo
August 5, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT



Emergency workers help passengers with their bags while disembarking a supplemental train after their Amtrak train derailed near Union Station in July in Washington. (AP/Nathan Howard)

Amtrak disruptions are on the rise in the Northeast and are likely to linger for years as extreme weather events become more frequent, Amtrak’s aging fleet requires more upkeep and reconstruction projects begin on the nation’s busiest passenger rail corridor, railroad officials say. ... Delays have plagued travelers from D.C. to Boston in recent months, many attributed to heat-related speed restrictions and train breakdowns. Track work has also hampered trips up and down the route.

“This is really part of the conundrum we face,” Amtrak president Roger Harris said, citing decades of deferred maintenance on the 457-mile route, part of it dating back 190 years. “Now we have the money to do work. And to do work, you have to do things like take tracks out of service to get the work done.”

[ New York’s Hudson tunnel project to get $6.9 billion in largest U.S. transit grant ]

The carrier, which transports more passengers in the Northeast than airlines, is launching major construction projects along various segments of the route as it begins to use some of the $66 billion made available for rail in the infrastructure law. Most of the money, federal transportation officials say, will go toward upgrading track and replacing century-old tunnels and bridges along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.

As work moves forward, train operations will be affected as the company considers overnight track shutdowns to speed the repairs. Among the ongoing work is a major overhaul of the 1950s-era catenary system that carries electric power to trains, as well as improved draining and track upgrades to replace aging wooden ties. ... Massive projects, such as the construction of a new Hudson River tunnel between New York and New Jersey and a replacement for the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, have received federal funding and will require years of construction.

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By Luz Lazo
Luz Lazo is a transportation reporter at The Washington Post covering passenger and freight transportation, buses, taxis and ride-sharing services. She also writes about traffic, road infrastructure and air travel in the Washington region and beyond. She joined The Post in 2011. Twitter https://twitter.com/luzcita