Major upgrades are rolling ahead for one of the Northeast Corridor’s most important rail maintenance hubs. Clark Construction and Herzog Contracting have officially broken ground on the $705 million modernization of Amtrak’s Ivy City Rail Yard in Northeast Washington, D.C., marking the latest advance in a corridor-wide infrastructure expansion.
The Ivy City improvements are part of Amtrak’s larger rail yard enhancement program designed to prepare its network for new Airo trainsets that will begin operating in 2027. The initiative is one piece of a generational investment that aims to boost reliability, efficiency and overall operational capacity along the busiest passenger rail line in the U.S.
Similar upgrades are underway throughout the Northeast Corridor. Crews have already mobilized in Philadelphia and Boston, and Amtrak plans to break ground at New York City’s Sunnyside Yard in 2026. The railroad expects to select a design team for enhancements at the Albany-Rensselaer station by year-end. On the West Coast, PCL Construction has launched improvements at Seattle’s King Street Yard, reinforcing Amtrak’s nationwide strategy.
At Ivy City, construction crews will add a nearly 860-foot-long maintenance building covering more than 260,000 square feet of both new and renovated space. Five specialized maintenance and inspection tracks will be equipped with drop tables, fueling pads, sanding systems, and deep inspection pits — all to ensure quicker turnarounds and cleaner daily operations for Northeast Regional services.
“Breaking ground today brings us one step closer to introducing Amtrak’s new state-of-the-art Airo trains on the Northeast Corridor in 2027,” said Roger Harris, Amtrak president, in the release. “This investment will help transform the customer experience.”
The modernization is supported by a portion of the $22 billion in federal rail funding included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — one of the largest rail-focused investments in decades.
“Today’s groundbreaking marks an important step forward for the Amtrak workforce and passengers throughout the Northeast Corridor,” said Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen in the release. “Along with providing for more efficient railcar inspections and repairs, this new Ivy City facility will play a central role in bringing new state-of-the-art trains to the tracks — delivering faster, safer, and more comfortable rail service for Marylanders and many more along the East Coast.”
Construction will be delivered in phases through 2030. Amtrak stated that passenger travel will continue without major disruption, even as crews work around active rail operations.
Originally reported by Sebastian Obando in Construction Dive.
