Next to Jim Cade’s auto body shop in West Philadelphia, an Amtrak retaining wall is crumbling into his parking lot.
Eight feet away, Amtrak and SEPTA trains rush past on the busy line that runs through the Main Line toward Paoli and Harrisburg.

“People ride by every day and have no idea this is like this,” Cade said, pointing to a section where the stone-and-concrete wall has given way entirely, spilling dirt and debris. “The deterioration gets worse with each rain.”

Cade worries that the failing wall could eventually undermine the stability of the tracks and cause a train wreck.

Several blocks away, at 52d and Jefferson Streets, three massive steel bridges that carry dozens of Amtrak and SEPTA trains every day are slowly deteriorating. Skillet-sized sheets of rust are flaking off, and daylight is visible through some side plates.

Throughout the Philadelphia region and much of the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak is struggling to maintain old bridges, tunnels, retaining walls and other infrastructure. Chronically short of money, Amtrak has put off an estimated $5 billion in needed repairs and upgrades nationwide, and most of that is along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington.

More at Philly.com

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