The proposed corridor would better connect long island, NY, to the national intercity passenger train network by extending three existing daily amtrak northeast regional round trips between…

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) received a $5.64 million Cooperative Agreement from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program (CFDA 20.326) awarded June 1, 2025, with completion targeted for November 30, 2027. The award funds the development of a Service Development Plan (SDP) for extending Amtrak Northeast Regional service from New York to Ronkonkoma, Long Island, with intermediate stops at Jamaica and Hicksville. This planning effort will establish the foundational framework for expanding intercity passenger rail connectivity to Long Island communities while integrating with existing Long Island Railroad commuter service.

Deliverables under this Cooperative Agreement include a Project Performance Plan, compilation of existing planning and development materials, a comprehensive Statement of Work, an approved project schedule, and an approved project budget. Upon completion, these planning activities will produce a finalized Service Development Plan that documents the track, station, and infrastructure upgrades necessary to accommodate the proposed corridor expansion and service integration. As a planning and corridor development initiative, this award aligns with the Federal-State Partnership program's support for service development activities that precede capital construction on intercity passenger rail corridors.

The proposed corridor would better connect long island, NY, to the national intercity passenger train network by extending three existing daily amtrak northeast regional round trips between washington, D.C., and new york, NY, east to ronkonkoma, NY, with stops at jamaica (queens, NY) and hicksville, NY. The proposed corridor would entail track, station, and infrastructure upgrades to accommodate these trains and better integrate amtrak service with existing long island railroad commuter service. Using the service development plan (SDP) SOW framework, the corridor sponsor will develop a project performance plan (task 1.1), existing planning and development materials (task 2.1), statement of work (task 2.2), approved project schedule (task 2.3), approved project budget (task 2.4). The outcome of this project will be the completed service development plan for the amtrak to long island corridor. The proposed corridor will serve communities between new york, NY and ronkonkoma, NY.