BEAR, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden, arguably the nation’s biggest Amtrak fan, visited a train maintenance shop in his home state of Delaware on Monday to showcase more than $16 billion in federal investments for rail travel along the busy Northeast Corridor, saying of long-delayed improvements, “we’re finally getting it done.”
The president highlighted spending to modernize 25 passenger train projects between Boston and Washington at an event in Bear, about 12 miles from Biden’s home in Wilmington.
“Why, in the United States of America, do we not have the best rail system in the world?” Biden asked. Noting that better train service in some of America’s busiest locales would help ease car traffic and potentially reduce fossil fuel use, he added, “There’s so much more we can do to better the environment and quality of life.”
Amtrak runs about 800,000 trips daily on its Northeast Corridor, the White House says, which makes it the nation’s busiest rail corridor. Monday’s event combined two things close to Biden’s heart: Amtrak and Delaware.
