House Passes Infrastructure Bill

The House of Representatives late Friday approved the $1.2 trillion Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which contains $550 billion for new infrastructure funding. That includes $66 billion for railroads and $39 billion for public transit.

Much of the rail funding is expected to go to Amtrak for capital projects, including the procurement of new passenger rolling stock.

In a statement,  Amtrak CEO William Flynn said the bill will enable Amtrak to move forward on infrastructure and station work in the Northeast Corridor, purchasing new passenger equipment and developing new rail corridors.

The public transit funding is expected to be used to improve infrastructure to make transit faster and more reliable.

Passage of the bill was not assured until the last hour before the vote. Infighting among majority Democrats has held up a vote in the House for the past two months. The Senate approved the bill in August.

Voting for the bill was largely along party line with most Democrats in favor and most Republicans opposed. However, 13 Republicans voted in favor of the bill while six Democrats voted against it.

Tags: Amtrak, Amtrak funding, Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act, U.S. House of Representatives, William Flynn