WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are welcoming news that Amtrak is receiving a $2.45 billion loan from the federal government to buy new trains, upgrade tracks and make platform improvements along the busy Northeast corridor. The Connecticut Democrats called the loan a “much-needed down payment toward rebuilding our aging rail network.”
Vice President Joe Biden on Friday announced the loan to Amtrak from the Department of Transportation, the largest loan in the department’s history.
Biden announced the new loan at his namesake Joseph R. Biden Jr., Train Station in Wilmington, Delaware.
The $2.45 billion will be used to purchase 28 new train sets for the high-speed Acela train between Washington through New York and into Boston. The money will also be used to rehabilitate railroad tracks and upgrade four stations, including Washington’s Union Station and Baltimore’s Penn Station.
