Amtrak Completes “Pause for Progress” Infrastructure Upgrades in Washington, D.C.

Nine-day construction effort improves critical rail infrastructure

WASHINGTON - Following an intensive nine-day construction period, Amtrak has completed its "Pause for Progress" infrastructure improvements on time in the First Street Tunnel just south of Washington Union Station. Train operations resumed today ahead of the busy holiday travel season.

"This concentrated construction period allowed our teams to make significant improvements to critical infrastructure while limiting the amount of time it was out of service," said Amtrak Executive Vice President, Strategy and Planning Jennifer Mitchell. "We're grateful to Virginia Railway Express (VRE), Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA), and North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for working closely with us to coordinate service during the outage, and to our customers for their patience and flexibility as we completed this important work to improve reliability for years to come."

The project required temporary service changes for trains traveling south of Washington from Oct. 16-26. Amtrak coordinated closely with VRE, VPRA and NCDOT throughout the project. Amtrak also appreciates the cooperation and flexibility of CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in helping to accommodate operational changes during this period.

The planned outage allowed crews to replace aging infrastructure at A-Interlocking, a critical track and control point for Amtrak and VRE trains traveling between Washington and Virginia. The work included replacing switches and crossovers, rehabilitating the tunnel track base, and installing modern electric switch systems.

By the Numbers

During the project, crews:

• Replaced seven key track components (eight new electric switch machines, two double-slip switches, one crossing diamond)
• Rehabilitated 350 feet of track/tunnel base
• Installed 550 tons of ballast
• Replaced 1,000 feet of rail and 215 ties
• Installed 2,500 feet of signal/electrical cable
• Logged approximately13,300 work hours per day

Plan Your Holiday Travel with Amtrak Virginia

With service restored, customers can start planning for the busy holiday travel season aboard Amtrak Virginia, with service to 17 stations in the Commonwealth plus Washington, D.C.

In addition to six daily roundtrip trains that travel between Washington and Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Newport News and points in between, VPRA is extending some of the Amtrak Connection Express Bus service launched in support of Pause for Progress to give travelers even more options this holiday season.

Reservations may be made for train and express bus service at Amtrak.com/Virginia, and travelers may take advantage of several discounts including:

• Virginia Anytime Fares: Save 15% on qualifying travel within Virginia and to and from Washington, D.C. Use discount code V552 in the Amtrak app.
• Share Fares: Small groups traveling together can save on qualifying trips.
• Student Discount: Travelers ages 17-24 can save 15% on qualifying travel. Use discount code V814 in the Amtrak app.
• Additional discounts are available for seniors, veterans and active-duty military.

Terms and conditions apply. To learn more or book travel, visit Amtrak.com/Virginia.

For more information about "Pause for Progress," visit Amtrak.com/Washington-DC-Train-Status-Pause-for-Progress.

Partner Reactions

DJ Stadtler, Executive Director of VPRA

"As Pause for Progress comes to a close, we would like to thank our Amtrak Virginia passengers for their patience as A-interlocking, a major infrastructure necessity for Virginia as well as the East Coast, was replaced," said DJ Stadtler, Executive Director of VPRA. "The coordination between impacted partners has ensured future passenger rail service to and from Virginia is reliable, secure, and safe."

Jason Orthner, NCDOT Rail Division Director

"We appreciate our customers' patience and flexibility during this important work," said Jason Orthner, NCDOT Rail Division director. "Amtrak and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority worked with us to develop innovative solutions that kept passengers moving while these critical improvements were completed. Those partnerships help us maintain service today while building a safer, more reliable rail network for the future."

Katie Choe, VRE CEO

"The completion of this work is an important milestone for everyone who relies on the rail network between Virginia and Washington, D.C. We appreciate the close collaboration between Amtrak, VPRA, and VRE to complete these critical upgrades," said VRE CEO Katie Choe. "VRE also thanks our passengers for their patience during this construction period and applauds the tremendous effort by crews working around the clock to complete these improvements. Investments like these strengthen the reliability and resilience of the corridor and help ensure our passengers continue to receive safe, dependable service."