The $75 billion plan to revive Amtrak by dramatically expanding passenger rail service could bring major positive changes to the Northeast Corridor, writes Angie Schmitt for Bloomberg.

The national rail carrier has proposed a 15-year expansion plan that would help huge expanses of the American landscape that have so far been underserved or entirely unserved to receive passenger rail service.

This expansive plan could be made possible thanks to a $66 billion investment in passenger rail through the federal Infrastructure Bill.

“There’s never been funding like this before,” said Amtrak spokesperson Marc Magliari. “It’s the largest amount of funding for passenger rail ever in the 52 years of Amtrak.”

The plan envisions a series of costly tunnel and bridge replacement projects for the Northeast Corridor, which carried around 40 percent of all Amtrak ridership last year.

The Northeast Corridor is also important due to being partly electrified and as such offers environmental advantages.

The locations listed for replacements are currently pinch points that result in major slowdowns in journey times.

The most pressing project is the Gateway Tunnel that connects New York and New Jersey which was recently awarded almost $7 billion in funding.

Read more about Amtrak in Bloomberg.

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Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor stretches between Washington and Boston. It’s a busy stretch of railroad, with parts that date back almost 150 years. Amtrak wants to run more trains, faster, but it’s hindered because the railroad is literally falling apart.