{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/coons-carper-announce-amtraks-third-track-in-wilmington", "Coons, Carper announce Amtraks third track in Wilmington", "2020-12-07", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "www.coons.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WILMINGTON, Del.  Today,\r\nU.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper and (both D-Del.) joined Amtrak and SEPTA\r\nrepresentatives to announce a recently completed $71.2 million project to\r\nincrease capacity between Wilmington and Newark along the Northeast Corridor. This\r\njoint project with the Delaware Department of Transportation and the Delaware\r\nTransit Corporation, orDTC,includes installation of 1.5 miles of a new, electrified\r\nmain line third track between Ragan and Yard interlockings, a bridge\r\nreplacement, and eliminates a previous two-track bottleneck. The change brings\r\nimproved safety, on-time performance, and a reduction in delays. This\r\nproject is nearly 20 years in the making, and I am thrilled that we are finally\r\ngoing to reap the benefits of improved, more reliable rail service along the\r\nNortheast Corridor,said\r\nU.S. Sen. Tom Carper, ranking member on the Environment and Public Works\r\nCommittee and a frequent Amtrak rider.We must continue to improve our nation's\r\ntransportation infrastructure in a way that promotes multi-modal transportation\r\nand takes cars off the road, for the sake of safety, congestion, and our\r\nenvironment. This project is a great example of a good public investment that\r\nbenefits passengers, drivers, the air we breathe and promotes improvements to\r\nrail service in the future. This\r\nyear started as one of the best for Amtrak, and while ridership is down, the\r\ncompletion of this project and removal of a significant bottleneck will mean\r\nmore commuter and intercity trains can use the Northeast Corridor and increase\r\nthe potential volume of rail service through Delaware,said U.S. Sen. Chris Coons.Our transportation system and passenger rail\r\nnetwork desperately need additional investment and a focus on building the\r\ninfrastructure we deserve. This project is an example of how we can make\r\nmuch-needed infrastructure upgrades, and I am grateful for the investments\r\nAmtrak has made in Delaware along with the federal government and state to make\r\nthis project possible. As\r\na regular Amtrak rider myself, I know the importance of a reliable and\r\nconsistent Northeast corridor. Delawareans have come to rely on Amtrak and\r\nSEPTA as a primary transportation option, whether for work or for leisure, and\r\nthis project to help reduce delays and improve on-time performance will help\r\ncontinue to bolster rail travel in the First State,said U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester.I want to commend all of the hard work done\r\nby DelDOT and the Delaware Transit Corporation to make this project possible. The\r\ncompletion of this project marks an important rail capacity expansion milestone\r\non the Northeast Corridor, resolving bottlenecks which previously constrained\r\nSEPTA and Amtrak from operating service at maximum capacity,said Bill Flynn, CEO of Amtrak.As we anticipate the return of pre-COVID-19\r\nridership growth, it is vital that we have the proper infrastructure in place\r\nto support a higher capacity railroad. The\r\nproject was developed as a shared benefit investment as part of a 2011\r\nagreement between DTC and Amtrak. It was funded using Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Highway Administration grants issued to DTC along with Amtrak funds. In\r\naddition to the successful completion of this critical project, Amtrak\r\ncontinues to invest in its infrastructure and this year has installed over\r\n69,000 new railroad ties, over 30 miles of new continuous welded rail and\r\ncompleted over 220 track miles of track surfacing on its owned and maintained\r\nlines in the Northeast Corridor and Michigan, aimed at ensuring a smoother and\r\nsafe ride for customers. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/coons-carper-announce-amtraks-third-track-in-wilmington"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8095229752361774, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}