America’s passenger rail service is one of the targets for investment in the Biden administration’s big infrastructure bill, and Amtrak has a plan ready if the money comes, adding new service, enhancing other routes and reconnecting cities that once shared rail service.
The map above shows only the northeast part of the plan, with yellow for routes due for upgrades or more service and light blue for new routes. The darker blue indicates sections that are part of Amtrak’s National Rail Network, carrying long-distance lines.
Among the most significant additions would be restored connections among Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago and a cluster of mid-South routes radiating out from Atlanta. There are also restored service between Boston and Albany and service from Las Vegas to Southern California.
All of the proposals, which can only happen with substantial money from the infrastructure bill, would be developed over the next 15 years. The thirty new routes would serve 160 cities that presently have no rail service, including Nashville, Columbus and Phenix. In addition to the new routes, money would go to a long backlog of repairs to existing tracks, stations, bridges and tunnels.
