US rail gets US$ 745 million boost

The US Department of Transportation (DoT) has approved US$ 745 million funding to upgrade some of the most heavily-used sections of the US Northeast rail corridor.

Rail operator Amtrak will use US$ 450 million of the grant to upgrade electrical systems and tracks between Trenton, New Jersey, and New York City.

A further US$ 295 million will be used to renovate tracks coming in and out of Manhattan at the Harold Interlocking rail junction in Queens. This project involves the construction of new flyover to separate Amtrak trains travelling between New York and Boston from Long Island Railroad and Metro-North commuter trains.

Pre-construction work between Trenton and New York City will begin in late 2011, with construction starting in 2012. Construction on the Harold Interlocking project will begin in September 2012.

'Buy America' policy

The DoT highlighted that the funds were awarded under the US government's 'Buy America' policy, which mandates that the use of US-made equipment and materials produced in the US.

More than 100 miles (161 km) of wire, hundreds of catenary poles, and a large volume of electrical equipment such as transformers would be used as part of the upgrades.