Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor
Amtrak Acela Express near Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Overview
Type	High-speed rail Higher-speed rail Inter-city rail Commuter rail
System	Amtrak CSX Transportation Norfolk Southern Railway Providence and Worcester Railroad
Status	Operational
Locale	Northeastern megalopolis
Termini	Boston South Station Washington, D.C Union Station
Stations	108 (30 Amtrak stations, 78 commuter-rail-only stations)
Ridership	11,396,006 (total, FY2013)[1]
Operation
Opened	1834 (first section) 1917 (final section)
Owner	Massachusetts (Boston - MA/RI border) Amtrak (MA/RI border - New Haven) Connecticut Department of Transportation (New Haven - CT/NY border) Metro-North Railroad (CT/NY border - New Rochelle) Amtrak (New Rochelle - Washington)
Operator(s)	Amtrak
Technical
Line length	453.3 mi (729.5 km)
Number of tracks	2-6
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead catenary 25 kV at 60 Hz (Boston to Mill River) 12.5 kV at 60 Hz (Mill River to Sunnyside Yard) 12 kV at 25 Hz (Sunnyside to Washington D.C.)
Operating speed	150 mph (240 km/h) (Acela) 125 mph (201 km/h) (other)
Route map Sections owned by Amtrak are in red; sections with commuter service are highlighted in blue.

The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railway line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore to Washington, D.C.. The NEC closely parallels Interstate 95 for most of its length, and is the busiest passenger rail line in the United States by ridership and service frequency as of 2013.^[1][2] Branches to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Massachusetts, though not considered part of the Northeast Corridor, see frequent service from routes that run largely on the corridor.

The corridor is used by many Amtrak trains, including the high-speed Acela Express, intercity trains, and several long-distance trains. Most of the corridor also has frequent commuter rail service, operated by the MBTA, Shore Line East, Metro-North Railroad, New Jersey Transit, SEPTA, and MARC. Several companies run freight trains over sections of the NEC.

Much of the line is built for speeds higher than the 79 mph (127 km/h) allowed on many U.S. tracks. Amtrak can operate intercity Northeast Regional and Keystone Service trains at up to 125 mph (201 km/h), as well as North America's only high-speed train, the Acela Express, which runs up to 150 mph (241 km/h) on several sections in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Acela covers the 225 miles (362 km) between New York and Washington, D.C., in under 3 hours, and the 229 miles (369 km) between New York and Boston in under 3.5 hours.^[3][4] Under Amtrak's $151 billion Northeast Corridor plan, which hopes to roughly halve travel times by 2040, trips between New York and Washington would take 94 minutes.^[5][6]

History

Origins

The Northeast Corridor was built by several railroads between the 1830s and 1917. The route was later consolidated under two railroads: the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (NYNH&H) between Boston and New York, and the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York and Washington.

Boston-New York

• Boston-Providence: Boston and Providence Railroad opened 1835, partially realigned in 1847 and in 1899. Became part of the Old Colony Railroad in 1888.^[7]
• Providence-Stonington: New York, Providence and Boston Railroad opened 1837; partially realigned 1848.
• Stonington-New Haven: New Haven, New London and Stonington Railroad opened 1852-1889, realigned in New Haven, 1894.
• New Haven-New Rochelle: New York and New Haven Railroad opened 1849.
• New Rochelle-Port Morris: Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad opened 1873.
• Port Morris-Sunnyside Yard: New York Connecting Railroad (joint venture between NYNH&H and PRR): opened 1917.

New York-Washington, D.C.

• Sunnyside Yard-Manhattan Transfer: Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad opened 1910.^[8]
• Manhattan Transfer-Trenton: United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company opened 1834-1839, 1841; partially realigned 1863 and 1870.
• Trenton-Frankford Junction: Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad opened 1834; partially realigned 1911.
• Frankford Junction-Zoo Tower: Connecting Railway opened 1867.
• Zoo Tower-Grays Ferry Bridge: Junction Railroad opened 1863-1866.
• Grays Ferry-Bayview: Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad opened 1837-1838,^[9] 1866, 1906.
• Bayview Yard-Baltimore Union Station: Union Railroad opened 1873.^[10]
• Baltimore Union Station-Landover: Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road opened 1872.^[11]
• Landover-Washington, D.C.: Magruder Branch opened 1907^[12]

Electrification, 1905–38

New York section

The New York Central Railroad (NYC) began planning electrification between Grand Central Terminal and the split at Mott Haven after the opening of the first electrified urban rail terminal in 1900, the Gare d'Orsay in Paris, France. Electricity was in use on some branch lines of the NYNH&H for interurban streetcars via third rail or trolley wire. An accident in the Park Avenue Tunnel near Grand Central Station that killed 17 people on January 8, 1902 was blamed on smoke from steam locomotives; the resulting outcry led to a push for electric operation in Manhattan.^[13][14][15]

The first section was the Park Avenue Tunnel of the New York and Harlem Railroad, part of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad (NYC) to its Grand Central Terminal in New York, and also used by the NH via trackage rights.

The NH announced in 1905 that it would electrify its main line from New York to Stamford, Connecticut. Along with the construction of the new Grand Central Terminal, opened in 1912, the NYC electrified its lines, beginning on December 11, 1906 with suburban multiple unit service to High Bridge on the Hudson Line. Electric locomotives began serving Grand Central on February 13, 1907, and all NYC passenger service into Grand Central was electrified on July 1. NH electrification began on July 24 to New Rochelle, August 5 to Port Chester and October 6, 1907 the rest of the way to Stamford. Steam trains last operated into Grand Central on June 30, 1908, after which all NH passenger trains into Manhattan were electrified. In June 1914, the NH electrification was extended to New Haven, which was the terminus of electrified service for over 80 years.^[16]

At the same time, the PRR was building its Pennsylvania Station and electrified approaches, which were served by the PRR's lines in New Jersey and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). LIRR electric service began in 1905 on the Atlantic Branch from downtown Brooklyn past Jamaica, and in June 1910 on the branch to Long Island City, part of the main line to Penn Station. Penn Station opened September 8, 1910 for LIRR trains and November 27 for the PRR; trains of both railroads were powered by DC electricity from a third rail. PRR trains changed engines (electric to/from steam) at Manhattan Transfer; passengers could also transfer there to H&M trains to downtown Manhattan.

On July 29, 1911, NH began electric service on its Harlem River Branch, a suburban branch that would become a main line with the completion of the New York Connecting Railroad and its Hell Gate Bridge. The bridge opened on April 1, 1917, but was operated by steam with an engine change at Sunnyside Yard east of Penn Station until 1918.

Electrification of the portion north of New Haven to Providence and Boston had been planned by the NH, and authorized by the company's board of directors shortly before the United States entered World War I. This plan was not carried out because of the war and the company's financial problems.

New York to Washington electrification

In 1905, the PRR began to electrify its suburban lines at Philadelphia, an effort that eventually led to 11kV, 25Hz AC catenary from New York and Washington. Electric service began in September 1915, with multiple unit trains west to Paoli on the PRR Main Line (now the Keystone Corridor).^[17] Electric service to Chestnut Hill (now the Chestnut Hill West Line), including a stretch of the NEC, began March 30, 1918. Local electric service to Wilmington, Delaware, on the NEC began September 30, 1928, and to Trenton, New Jersey, on June 29, 1930.

Electrified service between Exchange Place, the Jersey City terminal, and New Brunswick, New Jersey began on December 8, 1932, including the extension of Penn Station electric service from Manhattan Transfer. On January 16, 1933, the rest of the electrification between New Brunswick and Trenton opened, giving a fully electrified line between New York and Wilmington. Trains to Washington began running under electricity to Wilmington on February 12, with the engine change moved from Manhattan Transfer to Wilmington. The same was done on April 9 for trains running west from Philadelphia, with the change point moved to Paoli.

In 1933, the electrification south of Wilmington was stalled by the Great Depression, but the PRR got a loan from Public Works Administration to resume work.^[18] The tunnels at Baltimore were rebuilt, and electric service between New York and Washington began February 10, 1935. On April 7, the electrification of passenger trains was complete, with 639 daily trains: 191 hauled by locomotives and the other 448 under multiple-unit power. New York-Washington electric freight service began May 20 after the electrification of freight lines in New Jersey and Washington. Extensions to Potomac Yard across the Potomac River from Washington, as well as several freight branches along the way, were electrified in 1937 and 1938. The Potomac Yard retained its electrification until 1981.

Re-signaling

In the 1930s, PRR equipped the New York-Washington line with Pulse code cab signaling. Between 1998 and 2003, this system was overlaid with an Alstom Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES), using track-mounted transponders similar to the Balises of the modern European Train Control System.^[19] The ACSES will enable Amtrak to implement positive train control to comply with the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

Founding and operation of Amtrak

Reorganization and bankruptcy

In December 1967, the UAC Turbotrain set a speed record for a production train: 170.8 miles per hour (274.8 kilometers per hour) between New Brunswick and Trenton, New Jersey.^[20]

In February 1968, PRR merged with its former rival New York Central Railroad to form the Penn Central (PC). Penn Central was required to absorb the New Haven in 1969 as a condition of the merger, which brought the entire Washington-Boston corridor under the control of a single company.

On September 21, 1970, all New York-Boston trains except the Turboservice were rerouted into Penn Station from Grand Central; the Turboservice was moved on February 1, 1971 for cross-platform transfers to the Metroliners.^[21]

In 1971, Amtrak began operations. As well, various state governments took control of portions of the NEC for their commuter transportation authorities. In January, the State of Massachusetts bought the Attleboro/Stoughton Line in Massachusetts, later operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The same month, the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority bought and Connecticut leased from Penn Central their sections of the New Haven Line, between Woodlawn, Bronx, New York and New Haven, Connecticut.^[21]

In 1973, the Regional Rail Reorganization Act opened the way for Amtrak to buy sections of the NEC not already been sold to these commuter transportation authorities. These purchases by Amtrak were controversial at the time, and the Department of Transportation blocked the transaction and withheld purchase funds for several months until Amtrak granted it control over reconstruction of the corridor.^[22]

In February 1975, the Preliminary System Plan for Conrail proposed to stop running freight trains on the NEC between Groton, Connecticut, and Hillsgrove, Rhode Island, but this clause was rejected the following month by the U.S. Railway Association.^[23]

By April 1976, Amtrak owned the entire NEC except for the section between New Haven and the Rhode Island/Massachusetts state line, which were sold to the Providence and Worcester Railroad; those rights remained until the 1999 breakup of Conrail, when they were split between the Norfolk Southern Railway to the south and CSX Transportation to the north. Amtrak still operates and maintains the portion in Massachusetts, but the line from New Haven to New Rochelle, New York, is operated by the Metro-North Railroad, which has hindered the establishment of high-speed service.

Northeast Corridor Improvement Project

In 1976, Congress authorized an overhaul of the system between Washington and Boston.^[24] Called the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project (NECIP), it included safety improvements, modernization of the signaling system by General Railway Signal, and new Centralized Electrification and Traffic Control (CETC) control centers by Chrysler at Philadelphia, New York and Boston. It allowed more trains to run faster and closer together, and set the stage for later high-speed operation. NECIP also introduced the AEM-7 locomotive, which lowered travel times between cities and became the most successful engine on the Corridor. The NECIP set travel time goals of 2 hours and 40 minutes between Washington and New York, and 3 hours and 40 minutes between Boston and New York.^[25] These goals were not met because of the low level of funding provided by the Reagan Administration and Congress in the 1980s.^[26]

A project for electrification between New Haven and Boston was included in the 1976 Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act^[24] but it stalled after 1980 because of opposition from the Reagan Administration.^[27]

All grade crossings on the line have been eliminated between New York and Washington since the mid-1980s. Eleven grade crossings remain in Connecticut.

1990s implementation of high-speed rail

In the 1990s, Amtrak upgraded the NEC north of New York to ready it for the higher-speed Acela Express trains.^[26] Dubbed the Northeast High Speed Rail Improvement Program (NHRIP), the effort eliminated grade crossings, rebuilt some bridges, and modified some curves. Concrete railroad ties replaced wood ties, and heavier continuous welded rail (CWR) was laid down.

In 1996, Amtrak began installing electrification gear along the 157 miles (253 kilometres) of track between New Haven and Boston. The infrastructure included a new overhead catenary wire made of high-strength silver-bearing copper, specified by Amtrak and later patented by Phelps Dodge Specialty Copper Products of Elizabeth, New Jersey.^[28]

2000-present

Service with electric locomotives between New Haven and Boston began in January 2000. The project took four years and cost close to $2.3 billion: $1.3 billion for the infrastructure improvements, and close to $1 billion for both the new Acela Express trainsets and the Bombardier–Alstom HHP-8 locomotives.^[29]

On December 11, 2000, Amtrak began operating its higher-speed Acela Express service. Travel time by Acela is about three and a half hours between Boston and New York, and two hours and forty-five minutes between New York and Washington, D.C.

In 2005, there was talk in Congress of splitting the Northeast Corridor, which was opposed by then acting Amtrak president David Gunn. The plan, supported by the Bush administration, would "turn over the Northeast Corridor - the tracks from Washington to Boston that are the railroad's main physical asset - to a federal-state consortium."^[30]

Eleven minutes after leaving 30th Street Station in Philadelphia on May 12, 2015, a year-old ACS-64 locomotive (#601) and all seven Amfleet I coaches of Amtrak's northbound Northeast Regional (TR#188) derailed at 9:21pm at Frankford Junction (Shore Tower) in the Port Richmond section of the city while entering a 50 mph speed limited (but at the time non-ATC protected) 4º curve at 106 mph killing eight and injuring more than 200 (eight critically) of the 238 passengers and five crew on board as well as causing the suspension of all Philadelphia-New York NEC service for six days.^{[31][32][33][34]}

This was the deadliest crash on the Northeast Corridor since 16 died when Amtrak's Washington-to-Boston Colonial (TR#94) rear-ended three stationary Conrail locomotives at Gunpow Interlocking near Baltimore on January 4, 1987.^[35] Frankford Junction curve was the site of a previous fatal accident on September 6, 1943 when an extra section of the PRR's Washington to New York Congressional Limited derailed there killing 79 and injuring 117 of the 541 on board.^[36]

Infrastructure

The NEC is a cooperative venture between Amtrak and various state agencies. Amtrak owns the track between Washington and New Rochelle, New York, a northern suburb of New York City. The segment from New Rochelle to New Haven is owned by the states of New York and Connecticut; Metro-North Railroad commuter trains operate there. Amtrak owns the tracks north of New Haven to the border between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The final segment from the border north to Boston is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Electrification

At just over 453 miles (729 km), the Northeast Corridor is the longest electrified rail corridor in the United States. Most electrified railways in the country are for rapid transit or commuter rail use; the Keystone Corridor is the only other electrified intercity mainline.

Currently, the corridor uses three catenary systems. From Washington, D.C., to Sunnyside Yard (just east of New York Penn Station), Amtrak's 25Hz traction power system (originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad) supplies 12 kV at 25 Hz. From Sunnyside to Mill River (just east of New Haven), the former New Haven Railroad's system, since modified by Metro-North, supplies 12.5 kV at 60 Hz. From Mill River to Boston, the much newer 60Hz traction power system supplies 25 kV at 60 Hz. All of Amtrak's electric locomotives can switch between these systems at speed.

In addition to catenary, the East River Tunnels have 750 V DC third rail for Long Island Rail Road trains, and the North River Tunnels have third rail for emergency use only.

In 2006, several high-profile electric-power failures delayed Amtrak and commuter trains on the Northeast Corridor up to five hours.^[37] Railroad officials blamed Amtrak's funding woes for the deterioration of the track and power supply system, which in places is almost a hundred years old. These problems have decreased in recent years after tracks and power systems were repaired and improved.^[38][39]

In September 2013, one of two feeder lines supplying power to the New Haven Line failed, while the other feeder was disabled for service. The lack of electrical power disrupted trains on Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad, which share the segment in New York State.^[40]

Stations

There are 109 active stations on the Northeast Corridor; all but three (Kingston, Westerly, and Mystic) see commuter service, and 30 are used by Amtrak as well. Amtrak owns Pennsylvania Station in New York, 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Station in Baltimore, and Union Station in Washington.

The following is a list of active Amtrak and commuter rail stations, plus two interlockings where milepost numbering is reset. (For a full accounting of past and present stations plus interlockings, bridges, and tunnels, see List of Northeast Corridor infrastructure.)

Abbreviations

• Amtrak lines: AE=Acela Express, AD=Adirondack, CD=Cardinal, CL=Carolinian, CPL=Capitol Limited, CS=Crescent, EAE=Ethan Allen Express, ES=Empire Service, KS=Keystone, LS=Lake Shore Limited, ML=Maple Leaf, NR=Northeast Regional, PA=Pennsylvanian, PL=Palmetto, SM=Silver Meteor, SS=Silver Star, VT=Vermonter (note that not all trains of that designation necessarily stop at all marked stations)
• MARC: Served by MARC Penn Line trains.
• MBTA: Served by MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin Line, Needham Line, and / or Framingham/Worcester Line trains.
• MNR: Served by MTA Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, Danbury Branch, New Canaan Branch, and / or Waterbury Branch trains.
• NJT: Served by New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line, Montclair-Boonton Line, Morristown Line, Gladstone Branch, North Jersey Coast Line, and / or Northeast Corridor Line trains.
• LIRR: Served by Long Island Rail Road City Terminal Zone portion of Main Line trains to Penn Station.
• SEPTA: Served by SEPTA Regional Rail Airport Line, Wilmington/Newark Line, Media/Elwyn Line, Trenton Line, and / or Chestnut Hill West Line trains.
• SLE: Served by Shore Line East trains.

Station Listing

State	Miles	City	Station	Amtrak	Other		Connections
MA	228.7	Boston	South Station	AE NR LS	MBTA		MBTA Red Line, Old Colony Lines, Greenbush Line, Framingham/Worcester Line, Fairmount Line
	227.6		Back Bay Station	AE NR LS	MBTA		MBTA Orange Line; split with Framingham/Worcester Line
	226.5		Ruggles		MBTA		MBTA Orange Line
	223.7		Forest Hills		MBTA		MBTA Orange Line; split with Needham Line
	220.6		Hyde Park		MBTA
	219.2		Readville		MBTA		MBTA Fairmount Line; split with Franklin Line. NEC platforms only used in emergencies
	217.3	Westwood	Route 128	AE NR	MBTA		Park and ride
	213.9	Canton	Canton Junction		MBTA		Split with Stoughton branch
	210.8	Sharon	Sharon		MBTA
	204.0	Mansfield	Mansfield		MBTA
	196.9	Attleboro	Attleboro		MBTA
	191.9		South Attleboro		MBTA
	190.8	state line Massachusetts / Rhode Island
RI	185.1	Providence	Providence	AE NR	MBTA
	177.3	Warwick	T. F. Green Airport		MBTA
	165.8	Wickford (North Kingstown)	Wickford Junction		MBTA
	158.1	West Kingston (South Kingstown)	Kingston	NR
	141.3	Westerly	Westerly	NR
	141.1	state line Rhode Island / Connecticut
CT	132.3	Stonington	Mystic	NR
	122.9	New London	New London	AE NR		SLE
	105.1	Old Saybrook	Old Saybrook	NR		SLE
	101.2	Westbrook	Westbrook			SLE
	96.8	Clinton	Clinton			SLE
	93.1	Madison	Madison			SLE
	88.8	Guilford	Guilford			SLE
	81.4	Branford	Branford			SLE
	72.9	Division Post – Metro-North Railroad / Amtrak
	72.7	New Haven	State Street Station		MNR	SLE
	72.3		Union Station	AE NR VT	MNR	SLE	Amtrak Shuttle
	69.4	West Haven	West Haven		MNR	SLE
	63.3	Milford	Milford		MNR	SLE
	59.0	Stratford	Stratford		MNR	SLE	MNRR Waterbury Branch
	55.4	Bridgeport	Bridgeport	NR VT	MNR	SLE
	52.3	Fairfield	Fairfield Metro		MNR
	50.6		Fairfield		MNR
	48.9		Southport		MNR
	47.2	Westport	Green's Farms		MNR
	44.2		Westport		MNR
	42.1	Norwalk	East Norwalk		MNR
	41.0		South Norwalk		MNR		MNRR Danbury Branch
	39.2		Rowayton		MNR
	37.7	Darien	Darien		MNR
	36.2		Noroton Heights		MNR
	33.1	Stamford	Stamford	AE NR VT	MNR	SLE	MNRR New Canaan Branch
	31.3	Greenwich	Old Greenwich		MNR
	30.3		Riverside		MNR
	29.6		Cos Cob		MNR
	28.1		Greenwich		MNR
	26.1	state line Connecticut / New York
NY	25.7	Port Chester	Port Chester		MNR
	24.1	Rye	Rye		MNR
	22.2	Harrison	Harrison		MNR
	20.5	Mamaroneck	Mamaroneck		MNR
	18.7	Larchmont	Larchmont		MNR
	16.6	New Rochelle	New Rochelle	NR	MNR		Metro-North to Grand Central
	3.2	New York City	Sunnyside		LIRR		Not yet open
	0.0		Penn Station	AE AD CD CL CS EAE ES KS LS ML NR PA PL SM SS VT	LIRR	NJT	LIRR: Trains to Long Island NJT: Trains to New Jersey NYCS: A C E trains at Eighth Avenue, 1 2 3 trains at Seventh Avenue
	1.2	state line New York / New Jersey
NJ	5.0	Secaucus	Secaucus Junction			NJT	NJT to Hoboken and northern New Jersey
	10.0	Newark	Penn Station	AE CD CL CS KS NR PA PL SM SS VT		NJT	Newark City Subway, PATH
	12.6		Newark Airport	KS NR		NJT	AirTrain
	14.4	Elizabeth	North Elizabeth			NJT
	15.4		Elizabeth (Broad Street)			NJT
	18.6	Linden	Linden			NJT
	20.7	Rahway	Rahway			NJT
	24.6	Woodbridge	Metropark	AE KS NR VT		NJT	Park and ride
	27.1	Metuchen	Metuchen			NJT
	30.3	Edison	Edison			NJT
	32.7	New Brunswick	New Brunswick	KS NR		NJT
	34.4	New Brunswick	Jersey Avenue			NJT	Park and ride
	48.8	Princeton Junction	Princeton Junction	KS NR		NJT	NJT Princeton Branch to Princeton
	54.4	Hamilton Township	Hamilton			NJT
	58.1	Trenton	Trenton	AE CD CL CS KS NR PA SM SS VT	SEPTA	NJT	NJT River Line to Camden
	59.2	state line New Jersey / Pennsylvania
PA	64.7	Tullytown	Levittown		SEPTA
	67.8	Bristol	Bristol		SEPTA
	70.7	Bristol Township	Croydon		SEPTA
	72.4	Bensalem	Eddington		SEPTA
	73.7	Cornwells Heights	Cornwells Heights	KS NR	SEPTA
	75.8	Philadelphia	Torresdale		SEPTA
	78.3		Holmesburg Junction		SEPTA
	79.3		Tacony		SEPTA
	81.2		Bridesburg		SEPTA
	86.0		North Philadelphia	KS NR	SEPTA
	89.0 0		ZOO Interlocking				Split with Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line
	1.5		30th Street Station	AE CD CL CS KS NR PA PL SM SS VT	SEPTA	NJT	New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line, all SEPTA commuter rail lines Market-Frankford Line, Subway-Surface Trolley Lines
	5.8	Darby	Darby		SEPTA
	6.5	Sharon Hill	Curtis Park		SEPTA
	7.2		Sharon Hill		SEPTA
	7.7	Folcroft	Folcroft		SEPTA
	8.3	Glenolden	Glenolden		SEPTA
	9.0	Norwood	Norwood		SEPTA
	9.7	Prospect Park	Prospect Park		SEPTA
	10.4	Ridley Park	Ridley Park		SEPTA
	11.1		Crum Lynne		SEPTA
	12.3	Eddystone	Eddystone		SEPTA
	13.4	Chester	Chester Transportation Center		SEPTA
	15.5		Highland Avenue Station		SEPTA
	16.7	Marcus Hook	Marcus Hook		SEPTA
	18.2	state line Pennsylvania / Delaware
DE	19.6	Claymont	Claymont		SEPTA
	26.8	Wilimington	Wilmington	AE CD CL CS NR PL SM SS VT	SEPTA
	32.5		Churchmans Crossing		SEPTA
	38.7	Newark	Newark	NR	SEPTA
	41.5	state line Delaware / Maryland
MD	59.5	Perryville	Perryville		MARC
	65.5	Aberdeen	Aberdeen	NR	MARC
	75.1	Edgewood	Edgewood		MARC
	84.0	Middle River	Martin State Airport		MARC
	95.7	Baltimore	Penn Station	AE CD CL CS NR PL SM SS VT	MARC		Maryland Transit Administration Light Rail
	98.5		West Baltimore		MARC
	103.0	Halethorpe	Halethorpe		MARC
	106.3	Linthicum	BWI Airport Rail Station	AE NR VT	MARC
	113.6	Odenton	Odenton		MARC
	119.4	Bowie	Bowie State		MARC
	124.7	Seabrook	Seabrook		MARC
	127.0	New Carrollton	New Carrollton	NR VT	MARC		Orange Line (Washington Metro), park and ride
	131.6	state line Maryland / District of Columbia
DC	134.6 1.1	Washington	C Interlocking				Junction with CSX Capital Subdivision and Metropolitan Subdivision
	0.0		Union Station	AE CPL CD CL CS NR PL SM SS VT	MARC	VRE	VRE commuter rail, Metro Red Line, Amtrak trains to Virginia, Chicago, New Orleans, Miami, MARC commuter Rail

Grade crossings

The entire Northeast Corridor has just 11 grade crossings, all in southeastern New London County, Connecticut. The remaining grade crossings are along a part of the line that hugs the shore of Fishers Island Sound. Without these crossings many waterfront communities and businesses would be inaccessible from land. Except for three grade crossings near New London Union Station, all have four-quadrant gates with induction loop sensors, which allow vehicles stopped on the tracks to be detected in time for an oncoming train to stop.

FRA rules limit track speeds on the corridor to 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) over conventional crossings and 95 miles per hour (153 km/h) over crossings with four-quadrant gates and vehicle detection tied into the signal system.^[41]

History

The New York to New Haven line has long been completely grade-separated, and the last grade crossings between Washington and New York were eliminated in the 1980s. In 1994, during planning for electrification and high-speed Acela Express service between New Haven and Boston, a law was passed requiring USDOT to plan for the elimination of all remaining crossings (unless impractical or unnecessary) by 1997.^[42] Some lightly used crossings were simply closed, while most were converted into bridges or underpasses. Only thirteen remained by 1999, of which lightly used crossings in Old Lyme, Connecticut and Exeter, Rhode Island were soon closed.^[43]

Despite six nonfatal accidents in the previous sixteen years, there was substantial local opposition to closing the remaining 11 crossings. Outright closing the crossing would eliminate the sole access points to several of the places they served, while grade separation would have been expensive and required land takings.^[43] Instead, the crossings were supplied with additional protections. In 1998, School Street in Groton was the first four-quadrant gate installation in the country with vehicle detection sensors tied into the line's signal system.^[44] It cost $1 million rather than the $4 million for a bridge.^[45] Seven more crossings received similar installations in 1999 and 2000; only the three in New London (which are on a tight curve with speed limits under 30 miles per hour (48 km/h)) did not.^[46]

On September 28, 2005, a southbound Acela Express struck a car at Miner Lane in Waterford, Connecticut, the first such incident since the additional protections were implemented.^[47] The train was approaching the crossing at approximately 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) when the car reportedly rolled under the lowered crossing gate arms too late for the sensor system to fully stop the train. The driver and one passenger were killed on impact; the other passenger died nine days later from injuries sustained in the crash. The gates were later inspected and declared to have been functioning properly at the time of the incident.^[48] The incident drew public criticism about the remaining grade crossings along the busy line.^[49]

Crossing list

Crossing are listed east to west.

Miles[50]	City[50]	Street[50]	DOT/AAR number[50]	Coordinates	Details
140.6	Stonington	Palmer Street	500263U	41°22′21″N 71°50′08″W / 41.372491°N 71.835678°W / 41.372491; -71.835678	Connects the Pawcatuck residential area to the Mechanic Street arterial.
136.7		Elihu Island Road	500267W	41°20′27″N 71°53′24″W / 41.340922°N 71.889912°W / 41.340922; -71.889912	Provides sole access to Elihu Island. Private crossing.
136.6		Walker's Dock	500269K	41°20′24″N 71°53′28″W / 41.340073°N 71.891184°W / 41.340073; -71.891184	Provides sole access to a small marina. Private crossing.
134.9		Wamphassuc Road	500272T	41°20′31″N 71°55′18″W / 41.342016°N 71.921605°W / 41.342016; -71.921605	Provides sole access to a residential area.
133.4		Latimer Point Road	500275N	41°20′29″N 71°56′56″W / 41.341312°N 71.948967°W / 41.341312; -71.948967	Provides sole access to a residential area.
132.3		Broadway Avenue Extension	500277C	41°21′03″N 71°57′50″W / 41.350813°N 71.963872°W / 41.350813; -71.963872	Next to Mystic station. Provides sole access to a residential and industrial area, several marinas, and the northbound platform.
131.2	Groton	School Street	500278J	41°20′42″N 71°58′38″W / 41.344933°N 71.977092°W / 41.344933; -71.977092	Provides sole access to the Willow Point residential area and marina.
123.0	New London	Ferry Street	500294T	41°21′25″N 72°05′41″W / 41.356984°N 72.094777°W / 41.356984; -72.094777	Provides sole access to Block Island Ferry and Cross Sound Ferry docks and other marine facilities. Does not have quad gates.
122.8		State Street	500295A	41°21′14″N 72°05′35″W / 41.353845°N 72.092991°W / 41.353845; -72.092991	Next to New London Union Station. Provides access to the Fisher's Island Ferry, City Pier, Waterfront Park, and the northbound platform.
122.5		Bank Street Connector	500297N	41°21′05″N 72°05′45″W / 41.35128°N 72.095957°W / 41.35128; -72.095957	Provides access to Waterfront Park.
120.2	Waterford	Miner Lane	500307S	41°20′09″N 72°07′26″W / 41.335726°N 72.123845°W / 41.335726; -72.123845	Provides sole access to a residential and industrial area.

Passenger ridership

Annual passenger ridership
FY*	Northeast Regional	Acela	Total ridership	% Change
2004	6,475,000	2,569,000	9,044,000
2005	7,116,000	1,773,000	8,889,000	-1.7%
2006	6,755,000	2,583,000	9,338,000	+5.1%
2007	6,837,000	3,184,000	10,021,000	+7.3%
2008	7,489,000	3,399,000	10,888,000	+8.7%
2009	6,921,000	3,020,000	9,941,000	-8.7%
2010	7,149,000	3,219,000	10,368,000	+4.3%
2011	7,515,000	3,379,000	10,894,000	+5.1%
2012	8,014,000	3,395,000	11,409,000	+4.7%
2013	8,044,000	3,343,000	11,387,000	-0.2%
2014	8,083,000	3,545,000	11,628,000	+2.2%
Sources:[51]

Current rail service

Intercity passenger services

In 2003, Amtrak accounted for about 14% of intercity trips between the cities served by the NEC and its branches (the rest were taken by airline, automobile, or bus).^[52] A 2011 study estimated that in 2010 Amtrak carried 6% of the Boston-Washington traffic, compared to 80% for automobiles, 8-9% for intercity bus, and 5% for airlines.^[53] Amtrak's share of passenger traffic between New York City and Boston has grown from 20 percent to 54 percent since 2001, and 75 percent of public-transport travelers between New York City and Washington, D.C., go by train.^[54]

These Amtrak trains serve NEC stations and run at least partially on the corridor:

• Acela Express: high-speed rail Boston-Washington, D.C.
• Cardinal: New York-Chicago via Washington, D.C. (Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays only)
• Carolinian: New York-Charlotte, North Carolina
• Crescent: New York-New Orleans
• Keystone Service: higher-speed rail Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-New York
• Northeast Regional: higher-speed rail local service along NEC between Boston/Springfield/New York-Washington D.C./Richmond/Newport News/Lynchburg, Virginia
• Palmetto: Savannah, Georgia-New York
• Pennsylvanian: Pittsburgh-New York via NEC and Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line
• Silver Meteor: Miami, Florida-New York
• Silver Star: Miami/Tampa, Florida-New York
• Vermonter: St. Albans, Vermont-Washington, D.C. via NEC and New Haven-Springfield Line

Seven other trains terminate at NEC stations, but do not use any NEC infrastructure outside the terminus.

The New Haven-Springfield Shuttle: New Haven-Springfield, Massachusetts via the New Haven-Springfield branch line of the NEC that is owned by Amtrak.

Five Amtrak services operate via the Empire Corridor a line with two short sections owned by Amtrak and the line between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady is leased, operated, and maintained by Amtrak. It meets the NEC at New York Penn Station.

• Adirondack: New York-Montreal
• Empire Service: higher-speed rail local service between Niagara Falls via Empire Corridor; most trains terminate at Albany-Rensselaer, New York, with two trains continuing to Niagara Falls
• Ethan Allen Express: Rutland, Vermont-New York
• Lake Shore Limited: Chicago-New York/Boston via Empire Corridor
• Maple Leaf: Toronto-New York via Empire Corridor

The Capitol Limited runs from Washington, D.C.-Chicago and uses NEC infrastructure at Washington Union Station.

Commuter rail

In addition to Amtrak, several commuter rail agencies operate passenger service using the NEC tracks:

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)

• Providence/Stoughton Line: Wickford Junction-Boston
• Franklin Line: Readville-Boston
• Needham Line: Forest Hills-Boston
• Framingham/Worcester Line: Back Bay Station-Boston

Shore Line East

• Stamford-New London, Connecticut

Metro-North Railroad

• New Haven Line: New Rochelle, New York-New Haven, Connecticut
• Waterbury Branch: Stratford-Waterbury, Connecticut
• Danbury Branch: Norwalk-Danbury, Connecticut
• New Canaan Branch: Stamford-New Canaan, Connecticut

Long Island Rail Road (LIRR)

• City Terminal Zone: Sunnyside Yard, Queens-New York

New Jersey Transit (NJT)

• Northeast Corridor Line: Trenton-New York
• North Jersey Coast Line: Rahway-New York
• Morristown Line, Gladstone Branch, Montclair-Boonton Line: Kearny Connection-New York
• Raritan Valley Line: Hunter Connection-New York
• Atlantic City Line: 30th Street Station-Frankford Junction

SEPTA

• Trenton Line: Philadelphia-Trenton, New Jersey
• Airport Line: 30th Street Station-Southwest Philadelphia
• Media/Elwyn Line: 30th Street Station-Arsenal Junction
• Chestnut Hill West Line: 30th Street Station-North Philadelphia Station
• Wilmington/Newark Line: Newark, Delaware-Philadelphia

MARC Train

• Penn Line: Washington-Perryville, Maryland

Freight services

Freight trains operate on parts of the NEC through trackage rights. The Norfolk Southern Railway operates over the line south of Philadelphia. CSX Transportation has rights from New York to New Haven; in Massachusetts; and in Maryland from Landover, where its Landover Subdivision joins the NEC, and Bowie, where its Pope's Creek Subdivision leaves it. Between Philadelphia and New York, Conrail operates as a local switching and terminal company for CSX and Norfolk Southern (see Conrail Shared Assets Operations). The Providence and Worcester Railroad operates local freight service from New Haven into Rhode Island and has overhead trackage rights from New Haven to New York.^[55] See also Rail freight transportation in New York City and Long Island.

Future

As of 2013, the Federal Railroad Administration is drawing up a master plan for developing the corridor through 2040, taking into account various projects and proposals by various agency and advocacy groups. The plan is to be complete in spring 2015.^[56] Much of the proposed improvements are unfunded.^[57]

In 2013, Japanese officials pitched the country's maglev train technology, the world's fastest, for the Northeast Corridor to regional U.S. politicians. The trains could travel from New York to Washington in an hour.^[58]

"A vision for High-Speed Rail"

In October 2010, Amtrak released "A vision for High-Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor", an aspirational proposal for dedicated high-speed rail tracks between Washington, D.C., and Boston.^[59] Projected to cost about $117 billion (2010 dollars), the project would allow speeds of 220 miles per hour (350 km/h), reducing travel time from New York to Washington to 96 minutes (including a stop in Philadelphia) and from Boston to New York to 84 minutes.^[60][61]

The proposed alignment would closely follow the existing NEC south of New York City; north of the city, several different alignments would be studied. One option would parallel Interstates 684, 84, and 90 through Danbury, Waterbury, and Hartford, Connecticut; another would follow the existing shoreline route (paralleling Interstate 95); a third would run along Long Island and a new bridge or tunnel across Long Island Sound to Connecticut.

In 2012, Amtrak revised its cost estimate to $151 billion. The 438-mile (705 km) HSR route is planned to be completed by 2030 (Washington to New York) and by 2040 (New York to Boston).^[5]

Gateway Project

In February 2011, Amtrak announced plans for the Gateway Project between Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station.^[62] The planned project would create a high-speed alignment across the New Jersey Meadowlands and under the Hudson River, including the replacement of the Portal Bridge, a bottleneck. It is projected to cost $14.5 billion and be completed in 2025.

Harold Interlocking

In May 2011, a $294.7-million federal grant was awarded to fix congestion at Harold Interlocking, the USA's second-busiest rail junction after Sunnyside Yard. The work will lay tracks to the New York Connecting Railroad right of way, allowing Amtrak trains arriving from or bound for New England to avoid NJT and LIRR trains.^[63][64] Financing for the project was jeopardized in July 2011 by the House of Representatives, which voted to divert the funding to unrelated projects.^[65] The project is currently funded by FRA and the MTA.^[66]

New Brunswick-Trenton high-speed upgrade

In August 2011, Congress obligated $450 million to a six-year project to add capacity on one of the busiest segments on the NEC in New Jersey.^[67] The project is designed to upgrade electrical power, signal systems and catenary wires on a 24 miles (39 km) section between New Brunswick and Trenton to improve reliability, increase speeds up to 160 mph (260 km/h), and support more frequent high-speed service.^[68][69][70]

Replacement of bridge over Hutchinson River

Amtrak has applied for $15 million for the environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering design to examine replacement options for the more than 100-year-old, low-level movable rail bridge (just west of Pelham Bridge) over the Hutchinson River in The Bronx that has been limiting speed in addition to train capacity. The goal is for a new bridge to support expanded service and speeds up to 110 mph (177 km/h).^[71]

New trains for Acela

On August 26, 2016, Vice President Joe Biden announced a $2.45 billion federal loan package to pay for new Acela equipment, as well as upgrades to the NEC. The loans will finance 28 train-sets that will replace the existing fleet. The trains will be built by Alstom in Hornell and Rochester, New York. Passenger service using the new trains is expected to begin in 2021 and the current fleet is to be retired by the end of 2022 when all the replacements will have been delivered. Amtrak will pay off the loans from increased NEC passenger revenue.^[72]

See also

• Corridor (Via Rail)

Notes

References

• Churella, Albert J. (2013). The Pennsylvania Railroad: Volume I, Building an Empire, 1846-1917. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4348-2. OCLC 759594295. 
• Cudahy, Brian J. (2002). Rails Under the Mighty Hudson (2nd ed.). New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 0-8232-2190-3. OCLC 48376141. 
• Middleton, William D. (2001) [1974]. When the Steam Railroads Electrified (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33979-9. OCLC 46812097. 

Further reading

• The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridor - 2012 Update Report - July 2012
• Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan - June 2010
• Northeast Corridor Future: Options for High-Speed Rail Development and Opportunities for Private-Sector Participation: Hearing Before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session, December 13, 2012
• New York Division (Map). Pennsylvania Railroad. 1963. 
• Middleton, William D. (1974) When The Steam Railroads Electrified (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-028-0
• Spavins, Jim. (2010) Diesels on the Northeast Corridor (1st ed.). ISBN 1-4537-8765-8

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northeast Corridor.

• The Northeast Corridor - Amtrak
• Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission
• NEC Future - A Rail Investment Plan for the Northeast Corridor
• Map of the Northeast Corridor on OpenStreetMap
• Amtrak Northeast Corridor mileposts between Philadelphia and Washington, DC
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MA-19, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. RI-19, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. CT-11, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. NY-121, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. NJ-40, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. PA-71, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. DE-21, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. MD-45, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"
• HAER No. DC-3, "Northeast Railroad Corridor"