Northeast Corridor

Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
	Amtrak, NJT, and SEPTA trains at Trenton Transit Center
Overview
Owner	Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Boston–MA/RI border); Amtrak (MA/RI border–New Haven); Connecticut Department of Transportation (New Haven–CT/NY border) ; Metro-North Railroad (CT/NY border–New Rochelle); Amtrak (New Rochelle–Washington)
Locale	Northeastern megalopolis
Termini	Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.;
Stations	108 (30 Amtrak stations, 78 commuter-rail-only stations)
Website	nec-commission.com
Service
Type	High-speed rail; Higher-speed rail; Inter-city rail; Commuter rail
System	Amtrak; CSX Transportation; Norfolk Southern Railway; Providence and Worcester Railroad
Operator(s)	Amtrak, MBTA (operated by Keolis), CT Rail, Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit, SEPTA, MARC
Ridership	14,052,537 (Amtrak only, FY 24) 15.9%
History
Opened	1834 (first section); 1917 (final section)
Technical
Line length	457 mi (735 km)
Number of tracks	2–6
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line: 25 kV AC at 60 Hz (Boston–New Haven); 12.5 kV AC at 60 Hz (New Haven–New York); 12 kV AC at 25 Hz (New York–Washington);
Route map
Route map
	Greenbush, Fall River/New Bedford,
	Kingston, and Fairmount Lines
	Franklin/Foxboro Line
	and Fairmount Line
	MA
	RI
	RI
	CT
	CT
	NY
	NY
	NJ
	NJ
	PA
	Trenton Cutoff /
	NJT Morrisville Yard

The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Newark, Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore. The NEC is roughly paralleled by Interstate 95 for most of its length. Carrying more than 2,200 trains a day,^[2] it is the busiest passenger rail line in the United States by ridership and service frequency.^[3]

The corridor is used by many Amtrak trains, including the high-speed Acela (formerly Acela Express), intercity trains, and several long-distance trains. Most of the corridor also has frequent commuter rail service, operated by the MBTA (Keolis), CT Rail, Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, SEPTA, and MARC. While large through freights have not run on the NEC since the early 1980s, some sections still carry smaller local freights operated by CSX, Norfolk Southern, CSAO, Providence and Worcester, New York and Atlantic, and Canadian Pacific. CSX and NS partly own their routes.

Long-distance Amtrak services that use the Northeast Corridor include the Cardinal, Crescent, and Silver Meteor trains, which reach 125 mph (201 km/h), as well as its Acela trains, which reach 150–160 mph (240–260 km/h) in parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. Some express trains operated by MARC that reach 125 mph (201 km/h) also operate on the Northeast Corridor. Acela can travel the 225 mi (362 km) between New York City and Washington, D.C., in under three hours, and the 229 mi (369 km) between New York and Boston in under 3.5 hours.^[4]^[5]

In 2012, Amtrak proposed improvements to enable "true" high-speed rail on the corridor, which would have roughly halved travel times at an estimated cost of $151 billion.^[6]^[7]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2024 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. December 3, 2024.
^ Young, Elise; Pogkas, Demetrios (March 5, 2018). "How Trump's Hudson Tunnel Feud Threatens the National Economy". Bloomberg News. New York: Bloomberg, L.P. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
^ Transportation Statistics Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Washington: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
^ "Amtrak fact sheet: Acela service" (PDF). Washington: National Association of Railroad Passengers. 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
^ Wolmar, Christian (March 7, 2010). "High-Speed Rail Investment Should Focus on Acela". The New York Times. New York. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
^ The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridor: 2012 Update Report (PDF) (Report). Washington: Amtrak. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
^ Nussbaum, Paul (July 10, 2012). "Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor plan at $151 billion". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.

[AmtrakRouteRidership-2] "Amtrak Fiscal Year 2024 Ridership" (PDF). Amtrak. December 3, 2024.

[3] Young, Elise; Pogkas, Demetrios (March 5, 2018). "How Trump's Hudson Tunnel Feud Threatens the National Economy". Bloomberg News. New York: Bloomberg, L.P. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

[4] Transportation Statistics Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Washington: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2007.

[5] "Amtrak fact sheet: Acela service" (PDF). Washington: National Association of Railroad Passengers. 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2016.

[6] Wolmar, Christian (March 7, 2010). "High-Speed Rail Investment Should Focus on Acela". The New York Times. New York. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2016.

[vision2012-7] The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridor: 2012 Update Report (PDF) (Report). Washington: Amtrak. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2023.

[8] Nussbaum, Paul (July 10, 2012). "Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor plan at $151 billion". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2013.

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