§24904 Northeast Corridor planning

Summary

The Northeast Corridor Commission must send a 15-year service plan to Congress by March 31, 2022. The plan must list the main repair, capacity, and capital projects, explain the service goals and the money and work needed to meet them, and lay out a phased schedule that shows how projects will be done, what workforce will be needed, and how work will be done without hurting train service. The plan must also show possible funding sources. The Commission must update that service plan at least once every 5 years. By November 1 each year, the Commission must make and send a 5‑year capital investment plan to the Secretary of Transportation and to the Senate and House transportation committees. That yearly plan must coordinate across the whole corridor, include the individual plans from Amtrak, states, and commuter agencies, list projects tied to the 15‑year goals and asset needs, weigh benefits, readiness, impacts, and funding, group projects by category, note projects that fit more than one category, and include a financial plan showing funding sources, cost‑sharing status, which projects the Commission expects to get Federal help, and who will get the money and build the projects. If no new yearly plan is made, money in the Northeast Corridor account for that year can only be spent on projects in the previous year’s plan. Amtrak and other owners must keep asset management systems that list assets, show their condition, explain what is needed to keep them in good repair, and report changes since the last plan. “Northeast Corridor” means the main line from Boston to the District of Columbia and the branch lines to Harrisburg, Springfield, and Spuyten Duyvil, plus the facilities and services to run and maintain them.