Tunnel, bridge, and fleet upgrade program creates American construction and manufacturing jobs, drives economic growth, and improves mobility around the U.S.
WASHINGTON – Amtrak and dozens of major industry partners representing construction, manufacturing, rail supply, engineering, and other sectors convened for an industry roundtable to discuss trends and highlight the hundreds of major rebuilding projects that Amtrak and its partners are delivering across America, today and into the future. These partners, who are helping to deliver many of Amtrak’s biggest projects, together represent more than 100,000 American workers from all 50 states.
Everyone who participated agrees – this is a new Amtrak.
With new investments, Amtrak is transforming into a modern and efficient intercity passenger rail operator achieving historic ridership demands while leading an innovative construction arm that leverages industry expertise to safely and efficiently deliver quality assets. After investing an unprecedented $4.5 billion into major infrastructure and fleet projects last year, Amtrak plans to increase its capital investments by 50% in 2025.
🎙️ Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner:
“America deserves world-class infrastructure, and here at Amtrak we are doing our part. We’re leading a strong American workforce and private-sector partners in building new bridges, tunnels, and trains to help meet the historic demand for intercity passenger rail and improve connections for millions of people in more than 500 cities, towns, and rural areas around the country.”
🎙️ Kiewit Corporation Executive Vice President Greg Hill:
“Our company takes great pride in our long history safely delivering infrastructure projects that provide and improve rail transportation across the U.S. We strongly support Amtrak’s ongoing major investments in capital programs that are building, repairing and transforming tunnels, bridges, rail lines and more to improve transportation safety and access to millions of people. Importantly, these programs also are expected to provide great jobs and training to thousands of construction and engineering workers across the country.”
🎙️ Siemens Mobility North America CEO Marc Buncher:
“We’ve been partnering with Amtrak for more than a decade to transform American infrastructure. From the first diesel-electric locomotives to the Amtrak Airo, we’re building the future of American-made rail technology at our North American Rolling Stock manufacturing facility in Sacramento, CA – and soon-to-open east coast hub in Lexington, NC. With more than 4,500 U.S. team members and 2,000 American rail suppliers, we are committed to delivering Amtrak the latest in rail technology.”
🎙️ Clark Construction Group Co-President John O’Keefe:
“As an American company, Clark Construction is proud to work with Amtrak to deliver critical infrastructure that strengthens and connects our nation. The delivery of these essential assets has lasting national economic impact by creating tens of thousands new jobs with significant participation from subcontractors, suppliers, manufacturers, and craftspeople from across the U.S.”
🎙️ Skanska Executive Vice President, East, Michael Viggiano:
“As a long-standing, trusted partner of Amtrak, we applaud its continued investment into America’s infrastructure and economic development and are proud to be contributing to these modernization efforts through key projects including the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation and the Sawtooth Bridges Replacement Project. Amtrak’s visionary capital improvement program will modernize some of the nation’s most complex and critical transportation corridors, benefiting millions of Americans, while creating thousands of career opportunities that will drive economic growth on a national scale.”
🚆 Seizing the moment: Amtrak’s new era of rail is replacing, upgrading, and repairing iconic century-old bridges, tunnels, stations, and other critical infrastructure assets.
- These structures date back to at least the early 1900s and were designed, built or opened primarily during the Presidencies of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft.
- Amtrak is also replacing a majority of its train fleet, which serves 500+ communities in 46 states and today averages nearly 40 years old, with some equipment dating back to Amtrak’s creation in 1971.
- Collectively, these transformative projects are creating the largest boom in rail construction in company history, putting hundreds of thousands of skilled Americans to work and jump-starting American manufacturing like never before in company history.
As Amtrak ramps up its capital program, the company has continued its commitment to buy American products, with 99% of procurements domestically based in Fiscal Year 2024.
🏗️ Amtrak is making progress on huge projects across multiple portfolios, thanks to strong partnerships with the private sector:
- 🚄 Introducing new state-of-the-art trains across the country, including 111 modern trainsets and 125 high-powered locomotives in production, as well as an upcoming contract award to replace hundreds of Long Distance railcars;
- 🌉 Building new bridges and tunnels that will remove major bottlenecks, including breaking ground on a megaproject to replace the 151-year-old B&P Tunnel, which opened when America’s 18th President, Ulysses S. Grant, was in office; and
- 🚉 Advancing the company’s biggest-ever station improvement program, improving accessibility at 380+ stations across the National Network, as well as restoring several major stations to their original glory.
In addition to major, once-in-a-generation projects, Amtrak is also conducting important annual renewal work through its state-of-good repair program, which maintains tracks, signals, power, and other important rail systems.
📈 Building on record ridership demand: Americans clearly want more Amtrak intercity passenger trains, and with the Trump-Vance administration’s strong federal support, America’s Railroad can further advance our mega construction projects, enhance our fleet, and once again, achieve record ridership and revenue, all of which will lead to more U.S. jobs, strengthen the American economy, and make America a world leader in rail once again.
Participants included AECOM, Alstom, Clark Construction Group, The Coalition for the NEC, Herzog, HNTB Corporation, Jacobs, Kiewit, Loram, Parsons Corporation, PennFab, Railroad Construction Company (RCC), Siemens, Skanska, STV, voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak, Vossloh North America, Wabtec, and WSP USA, among others.
To learn more about recent progress on Amtrak projects, visit our infrastructure news page.
Additional Reactions
🎙️ Alstom Chief Commercial Officer, U.S., Scott Sherin
“Amtrak is an economic engine for companies small and large across the country, and Alstom is a case example. Building the new Acela trains for Amtrak – the fastest trains in the country – supported over 1000 jobs in 27 states. These trains are 95% Made in America with union labor and generated more than $510 million of work for 181 companies that supply the rail industry. Nearly half of this investment went to small manufacturers, in rural communities, that are the economic lifeblood of these small towns. Amtrak does not just connect America, its projects create jobs and lift local economies nationwide.”
🎙️ AECOM Regional Chief Executive, U.S. East and Latin America, Bane Gaiser
“For over five decades, AECOM has proudly partnered with Amtrak, playing a critical role in sustaining vital infrastructure along the Northeast Corridor. As a trusted collaborator, we are excited to continue supporting Amtrak’s commitment to revitalizing America’s rail network. Our joint efforts on critical modernization projects like the Susquehanna River Bridge and Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Maryland, and the Connecticut River Bridge are a testament to the transformative impact of strategic investment in passenger rail to empower America’s economy. Our nationwide network of professionals are proud to partner with Amtrak to help lead the charge in shaping the future of American transportation.”
🎙️ HNTB Mid Atlantic Division President, Bryan Jones
“Through a shared vision of innovation and excellence, HNTB’s long-standing partnership with Amtrak spans decades of successful project delivery to help advance passenger rail service across the country. We are excited about the opportunity to continue this journey with Amtrak to shape the future of rail transportation focused on safety, efficiency, and a first-class passenger experience.
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