The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is currently holding public scoping meetings as part of the environmental review process for NEC FUTURE (http://www.necfuture.com/), a major initiative to plan for future passenger rail investment in the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Washington, DC and Boston, MA. The meetings are opportunities for the public to give their input on alternatives for future Northeast Corridor rail service, and to inform them about the NEC FUTURE programme.

NEC FUTURE will develop a framework for passenger rail capacity and service improvements through 2040, including an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess alternatives for passenger rail improvements in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Draft EIS is expected to be completed mid-2014 with a Final EIS and Record of Decision in 2015. Concurrent with the EIS, the NEC FUTURE programme will develop a Service Development Plan (SDP) focused on passenger rail service and possible alternatives for the corridor. Together, the SDP and EIS will comprise the Passenger Rail Corridor Investment Plan for the NEC.

NEC Facts and Figures

The Northeast Region:

• Is home to 51 million people (1 in 7 Americans) and is expected to grow to approximately 58 million by 2040.
• Generates 1/5th of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.

The Northeast Corridor is heavily travelled:

• 2,220 passenger trains use the NEC daily.
• 70 freight trains use the NEC daily (over 14 million car-miles of freight per year).
• 720,000 people ride along some part of the corridor each day.
• In 2011, there were 11 million passengers on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Acela Express services.
• NEC riders account for 69% of the combined airline and rail market between Washington, DC and New York City and 51% between New York and Boston.

The NEC is 457 miles long and has:

• 17 tunnels
• 1,186 bridges

The current NEC took nearly a century to build. It was built by several railroad companies between 1830 and 1917.

(Source: FRA)