Vice President Biden on Friday announced that Amtrak will receive a $2.45 billion federal loan.

ADVERTISEMENT

The loan, which the White House says is the largest in the history of the Department of Transportation, will be used to buy 28 new trainsets and to improve rails and stations along the Northeast Corridor, according to an announcement from Biden’s office.

“This loan is a key step to providing investments needed to help keep high speed trains moving throughout the region, and to help all commuters in the Northeast Corridor,” Biden said in a statement. “We need these kinds of investments to keep this region – and our whole country – moving, and to create new jobs.”

The vice president, who frequently traveled on Amtrak when he was a Delaware senator, announced the loan on Friday at the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Train Station in Wilmington, according to CNN.

"I have traveled over 2,100,000 miles on Amtrak. I have made over 8,000 — roughly 8,400 round trips. I believe it's about 257 miles a day. And these men and women have become my family," Biden said.

Amtrak has been working to fund new trains and improve infrastructure. It has said it will be able to pay for the improvements through growth in the Northeast Corridor, which has long been a source of revenue for the service.

Throughout the country, however, Amtrak is heavily subsidized by the federal government and loses money annually. In 2015, it reported a $306.5 million loss.