Karl Baker

The News Journal

Vice President Joe Biden on Friday will announce a new round of investment dollars for rail service that will directly benefit Amtrak passenger trains, his office said this week.

Details are not yet available about the plan, but the Vice President's office said Biden will "underscore the importance of investing in our nation's transportation infrastructure."

He will make the announcement Friday at 3 p.m. at the Wilmington train station, which in 2011 was named the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station.

Biden long been an advocate of passenger rail service and is well known for commuting aboard Amtrak trains from Wilmington to Washington, D.C., during his tenure in the U.S. Senate until 2008.

But the national rail company has also been scorned by fiscal conservatives, who say it needs to operate more efficiently or be privatized. Amtrak's only profitable rail line uses the tracks that pass through Wilmington along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C.

Wilmington Station is Amtrak's 11th busiest in the country, as measured by the number of boardings and exits, according to the publicly-owned rail company.

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In response to aging rail infrastructure in Delaware, the Federal Railroad Administration is considering adding additional train tracks and new stations in the First State. Options being considered include a station in Newport and a new track that loops around Wilmington. The agency is also looking at the possibility of adding a rail spur that would extend between Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia airport.

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.