Amtrak is upgrading rail yards as it prepares to welcome new trains. First stop: Philadelphia.

With a new maintenance facility in Philadelphia, Amtrak is aiming to get trains serviced and back on the tracks faster, with an eye on better reliability for passengers.

The $462 million project officially began Friday when Amtrak broke ground at the rail yard near 30th Street Station. They expect to complete it by 2027.

Amtrak service disruptions are not expected as a result of the project, which will span 350,000 square feet in the rail yard, according to the company.

The new facility “will drastically improve train maintenance, reduce train turnaround times, and more, resulting in more reliable and frequent passenger rail service for people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and riders up and down the Northeast Corridor,” said Amit Bose, an administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Acela, Northeast Regional, Keystone Service, and Pennsylvanian trains that operate on the Northeast Corridor will get inspections, maintenance, repairs, and cleaning at the new facility.

The Philadelphia rail yard is one of six in the country that Amtrak is upgrading as it prepares to launch new train models. Amtrak has been working toward replacing a majority of its trains, including high-speed Acela trains.

The design and construction of the Philadelphia facility is being carried out by Herzog Contracting Corp., Amtrak announced in March, and the project is funded entirely by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The new facility will create about 50 unionized maintenance positions once it is up and running, according to Samantha Silverberg, deputy assistant to the president for infrastructure implementation. The construction will also require about 250 workers, she said.

“This project will enable the efficient maintenance of Amtrak’s new Airo and Acela trains in Philadelphia to keep the trains running on time so that people can get to where they work, live, and play,” said Silverberg.

The new rail yard facility in Philadelphia comes as Amtrak is making significant investments in upgrades across its systems. In January, the company announced that it was investing roughly $5.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year toward its annual capital program — the most it has ever set aside for this work. The investment includes upgrades to trains, stations, and bridges.

The influx of upgrades comes as Amtrak is trying to increase ridership to 66 million annual passengers by the 2040 fiscal year. That’s a big increase — Amtrak provided about 28.6 million passenger trips in the 2023 fiscal year.

Amtrak is also redeveloping 30th Street Station. That project, expected to be complete in 2027, is costing an estimated $550 million. Upgrades include a new food hall and updated seating area.

These upgrades come as travelers have experienced delays and breakdowns on Amtrak and NJ Transit trains this summer, and prices have increased on Northeast Corridor multi-ride Amtrak tickets.