Amtrak Readying for Faster Trains in Part of NJ

Amtrak is planning to upgrade tracks to allow travel at 160 miles per hour

Amtrak says it plans to make its trains go faster through part of New Jersey.

The national rail carrier announced its major projects for 2012 on Tuesday.

Among them is preliminary work to upgrade tracks between Trenton and New Brunswick, to allow trains to travel at 160 miles per hour. Trains currently go 135 miles per hour on that section of the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak also plans to reconfigure track switches at the western entrance to New York's Penn Station to minimize congestion. That project is scheduled to be completed in 2017.

And about $15 million will be spent on studies for a proposed new Hudson River tunnel between New York and New Jersey.

Amtrak set a record last year with more than 30 million passengers nationwide.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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