Amtrak breaks ground on new heavy maintenance facility in Philadelphia

Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, alongside Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose, White House Deputy Assistant for Infrastructure Implementation Samantha Silverberg and Rail Passengers Association President & CEO Jim Mathews, announced the start of construction for Amtrak’s new heavy maintenance facility at the Penn Coach Yard in Philadelphia.

“This new maintenance facility is critical to upgrading the customer experience with new state-of-the-art trains, combined with our other major infrastructure projects,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. “This project and several others like it will help drive continued ridership growth and future service expansion.”

Deputy Assistant to the President for Infrastructure Implementation Samantha Silverberg said: “This project will enable the efficient maintenance of Amtrak’s new Airo and Acela trains in Philadelphia to keep the trains running on time so that people can get to where they work, live and play.”

Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose said: “Upgrades at Amtrak’s Penn Coach Yard near Philadelphia’s Gray 30th Street Station will drastically improve train maintenance, reduce train turnaround times, and more, resulting in more reliable and frequent passenger rail service for people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and riders up and down the Northeast Corridor.”

Rail Passengers Association President & CEO Jim Mathews said: “America’s passengers have been waiting for many decades to see this kind of long-overdue investment in the future of our rail network, which will make the trains we ride cleaner, safer and more reliable.”

Expected to open in 2027, the facility will span nearly 350,000 square feet, featuring a two-bay Maintenance and Inspection facility, along with service and cleaning tracks. These enhancements will streamline daily inspections, routine service and heavy maintenance repairs, ultimately improving the customer and employee experience.

The $462 million project, funded entirely by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will service various Amtrak train services, including Acela and Northeast Regional trains. The construction will occur in two phases within the existing rail yard footprint, with no significant customer impacts anticipated. This facility is part of Amtrak’s broader initiative to enhance infrastructure and service capabilities as it introduces new trains in the coming years.