Amtrak Completes First Street Tunnel Upgrades in Washington; Service Restored
On November 1, Amtrak announced that it has completed its "Pause for Progress" infrastructure upgrade project in Washington, D.C. After a nine-day construction outage, train service through Washington ended its suspension on October 31 and resumed; travelers can plan for the coming holiday season, with Thanksgiving falling on Thursday, November 26. The work took place in the First Street Tunnel south of Union Station and focused on the aging A Interlocking, a key track and control junction for Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains traveling between Washington and Virginia.
According to the work quantities Amtrak published, crews replaced seven key track components inside the tunnel, renewed 350 feet of track and tunnel subgrade, laid 550 tons of ballast, and replaced 1,000 feet of rail and 215 ties. Amtrak said that with the infrastructure renewal complete, service has returned to normal; Virginia Railway Express runs between 17 stations in Virginia and Washington, and Amtrak operates six daily round trips between Washington and Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk and Newport News, among other destinations. Amtrak reminded travelers to check official timetables before traveling and to book tickets and plan trips early during the holiday peak.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 华盛顿联合车站（资料图）。Frank Schulenburg摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / Washington Union Station (file photo). Photo by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
