Lautenberg, Menendez Applaud Amtrak High-Speed Rail Test Run in New Jersey

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) applauded Amtrak for taking an important step to advance high-speed rail on the Northeast Corridor by conducting a test run of high-speed trains in New Jersey. The initial test run is expected to take place tonight between Trenton and New Brunswick, where Amtrak will test its high-speed Acela Express equipment at 165 mph, which is 5 mph above the expected future maximum operating speed of 160 mph and 30 mph above the current maximum speed of 135 mph. Amtrak will continue high-speed test runs throughout the week in Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

"With this high-speed train test run in New Jersey, Amtrak is moving forward with its plan to make our state home to the fastest stretch of rail in the entire nation," said Senator Lautenberg, the Chairman of the Commerce Surface Transportation Subcommittee and a member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee. "We are proud to have worked with Amtrak to secure the federal funding needed to make this advance and we'll keep working to create a 21st century transportation system that includes faster high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor. Connecting the major economic hubs in our region with high-speed rail will help create jobs, get cars off the road and make the Northeast an even better place to live and do business."

Senator Menendez said, "We fought for and succeeded in getting $450 million to invest in the stretch of tracks that transports millions of riders through New Jersey each year, reducing congestions and delays, creating jobs and making this segment of the Northeast Corridor the fastest and best performing stretch of passenger railroad in the nation. Tonight's Amtrak testing begins another great step forward in our effort to make New Jersey a leader in high speed rail - and reaping all the economic benefits that will come with it."

In May 2011, Senators Lautenberg and Menendez helped Amtrak secure $450 million in federal funding for high-speed rail upgrades benefiting New Jersey. The funding will be used for power, catenary, signal and track upgrades along a segment of the Northeast Corridor from New Brunswick, NJ to Morrisville, PA. The improvements are expected to lift maximum speeds from 135 mph currently to 160 mph by 2017, making this segment of the Northeast Corridor the fastest and best performing stretch of passenger railroad in the United States, and support more frequent high-speed service. The project will also complement the Gateway Tunnel Project with infrastructure upgrades along the Corridor in New Jersey and upgrades to the western entrance to New York's Penn Station to mitigate congestion.

Source