(CNN) 鈥� President Joe Biden announced Monday the federal government will pump more than $16 billion into improving the nation鈥檚 busiest rail line.
At an event in Delaware on Monday, Biden said聽the funding will go into more than two dozen projects along the Northeast Corridor 鈥� the Amtrak system that connects cities including Washington, New York and Boston.
Biden hailed the new investments, saying he knew the agony of waiting on a stopped train while trying to get home.
鈥淚 know how much it matters,鈥� he said, describing an aging system in dire need of upgrades and repairs.
His words held particular resonance as trains nearby were stopped due to fire department activity on the tracks. It wasn鈥檛 clear whether the issue was related to the problems his new investments are meant to fix.
Biden told the hometown crowd that he was intent on making US rail first-rate.
鈥淗ow can you be a leading country in the world and have a second-rate infrastructure?鈥� he asked. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not possible.鈥�
The Biden administration said it selected projects including aging bridges and tunnels in need of replacement and said the $16.4 billion includes funding from .
The funding 鈥渨ill upgrade aging infrastructure on the nation鈥檚 most heavily traveled rail corridor to increase train speeds, reduce passenger delays, and create good-paying union jobs,鈥� said a White House official.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the projects are 鈥渃ritical鈥� and 鈥渞epresent some of the most frequent causes of problems and disruptions and delays.鈥�
The largest slice of funding will go to the underwater train tunnels connecting New York and New Jersey.聽 The Gateway Hudson River Tunnel 鈥� which the Amtrak CEO has said would cause 鈥渕eltdown鈥� if it failed 鈥� is more than a century old and is corroding after flooding during Superstorm Sandy more than a decade ago.聽 The $3.8 billion grant follows聽.
The funding also includes $4.7 billion toward聽replacing a Civil War-era tunnel near Baltimore.聽The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel is flooding and sinking and frequently slows trains into the city to a crawl, causing delays up and down the line.聽Completion of the new tunnel is expected in 2033.
Other projects to be funded include replacing a 100-year-old bridge in Maryland and a 116-year-old bridge in Connecticut.
鈥淎mericans need and deserve world-class rail, which is the president鈥檚 vision,鈥� Buttigieg told reporters.聽鈥淏ut for decades now, we have underinvested as a country in passenger rail in the United States.鈥�
During his speech Monday, Biden described bridges, tunnels and rails that were more than a century old, including the Baltimore tunnel that was built during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. Many haven鈥檛 seen upgrades in decades, leading to leaks and breakdowns.
鈥淭his is the USA for God鈥檚 sake. We鈥檙e better than that and now we鈥檙e proving it,鈥� he said.
He hit Republicans who he said were trying to slash Amtrak budgets.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to make it slower 鈥� and less safe,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to let them stop the progress we鈥檙e making.鈥�
Biden said his investments were helping renew American pride.
鈥淚 truly believe this country鈥檚 about to take off,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or the first time in a long time, we鈥檙e bringing pride back.鈥�
The-CNN-Wire
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