Amtrak advances plans to modernize three East Coast rail yards

Editor's note: The story has been updated with cost estimates for projects at the Ivy and Southampton yards. 

Amtrak yesterday announced it has awarded design-build contracts and begun preconstruction activities for three rail yard modernization projects on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) that will help improve service reliability and enable better train maintenance.

The new and upgraded rail-yard facilities — in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. — will be used to maintain Amtrak's new Airo and NextGen Acela trains, Amtrak officials said in a press release. Combined with two similar projects already under construction in Philadelphia and Seattle, and another in planning for Rensselaer/Albany, New York, the collective investments will support Amtrak’s continued record ridership growth and help deliver a new era of passenger rail in America, they said.

In Boston at the Southampton Yard, an SPS New England-Railroad Construction Co. (RCC) joint venture will design and construct a maintenance facility and renovate existing facilities to support Northeast Regional, Acela and Amtrak's long distance service trains that operate out of the existing yard. The project involves construction of a two-track maintenance and inspection facility and renovation of the existing two-track regional service and inspection facility into a two-track service and cleaning facility. Completion of the $583 million project is anticipated in 2029.

In New York City at the Sunnyside Yard, a Scalamandre-Citnalta joint venture will design and construct maintenance, inspection and servicing facilities and related upgrades to support Northeast regional, Acela, long distance and commuter trains that operate out of this yard. Construction will include a two-track maintenance and inspection facility; construction of six new service and cleaning tracks with canopy coverage; consolidation of commissary and employee-related spaces; an upgrade of service platforms to a state-of-good repair; and reconfiguration of two major interlockings and tracks connecting the yard to the NEC. The full project is expected to be completed in 2030. A cost estimated is unavailable.

In Washington, D.C., at the 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. Improvements will include construction of three exterior service and cleaning tracks with canopy coverage; renovation of two existing two-track maintenance facilities to include a new drop table; replacement of the existing water main infrastructure within and around the yard, which provides flexibility to serve multiple trainsets across the various facilities. The $705 million project is slated for completion in 2030.

“These investments are key to introducing our new Airo trains on the Northeast Corridor beginning in 2027," said Amtrak President Roger Harris. "With ridership and revenue at all-time highs, we’re making great strides to meet this growing demand with new, state-of-the-art trains that will improve service reliability and the overall customer experience, thanks to strong support from the Trump administration, Congress and many other partners.”