Intercity Passenger Rail

Intercity passenger rail (IPR) connects communities, large and small, urban and rural, and is an important part of America’s surface transportation system, providing an environmentally friendly travel option. Not only is intercity passenger rail one of the safest modes, it is also one of the cleanest and greenest modes of transportation—47 percent more energy efficient than traveling by car and 33 percent more energy efficient than domestic air travel on a per-passenger-mile basis.

A New Era of Passenger Rail

The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Corridor Identification and Development Program — created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — is a first-of-its-kind program to advance new and enhanced IPR corridors and guide IPR development throughout the country, and create a pipeline of projects ready for implementation. It is a significant step to improve America’s rail networks and reverse decades of underinvestment in the nation’s passenger rail infrastructure, making travel by rail more available and reliable, boosting economies, growing jobs, and creating new connections to move people and goods more efficiently.

Helping Clients Deliver the Nation’s Most Progressive Intercity Rail Programs

WSP has a deep bench of experts that have led the planning and development of the most progressive rail corridors nationwide. We understand that each corridor brings its own unique set of complex challenges, and that successful rail corridor development requires technical expertise across a range of disciplines, the ability to forge effective relationships with carrier railroads and coalition-building with key stakeholders to achieve “win-win” outcomes.

We have a regionalized approach to teaming with subconsultants aligned to the East, Central and West regions of the United States, respectively. This local and regional alignment equips our teams with a combination of superior technical expertise and an in-depth awareness of local stakeholder and community concerns, unique jurisdictional requirements, railroad operating practices and history relevant to the corridor.

Our high-performing teams are known and trusted by Amtrak, FRA, the Northeast Corridor Commission, the State Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee, states, cities and host and tenant railroads alike.