The Federal Railroad Administration, the nation’s railroad agency, has brought in the Boring Company, the tunneling firm founded by Elon Musk, to see if it could help with a multibillion-dollar Amtrak project, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
Federal Railroad Administration officials have talked with employees at the Boring Company about assessing the costs and progress of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel program, a new tunnelalong a busy Amtrak stretch connecting Baltimore to Washington and Virginia. Amtrak initially expected the development to cost $6 billion, but now estimates it could cost as much as $8.5 billion.
As part of the talks, officials with the Department of Transportation, which oversees the Federal Railroad Administration, met with employees from the Boring Company last month and were told that the firm could find ways to build the tunnel more cheaply and efficiently, according to two of the people familiar with the discussions.
A Transportation Department spokesman, Nathaniel Sizemore, confirmed that the Boring Company was one of several firms being consulted for the purposes of awarding a new engineering contract. He declined to name the other companies.
“No decision has been made on bids,” Mr. Sizemore said, “and Amtrak in coordination with D.O.T. will follow standard procedures for bidding out contracting and subcontracting.”
The talks have raised concerns about Mr. Musk’s conflicts of interests as he juggles his businesses, along with his role as a top adviser to President Trump. Mr. Musk leads or owns at least six companies, including the electric automaker Tesla and the rocket company SpaceX. At the same time, he has overseen the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has slashed jobs and resources at federal agencies that regulate his businesses.
In at least a few instances, the conflicts of interest have become public. Mr. Trump hawked Tesla cars from the White House lawn in March, while federal agencies have pushed for the wider use of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service.
Last month, amid concerns from investors that he was neglecting his work at Tesla, Mr. Musk said he would pare back the time he spent cost-cutting in Washington.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement that the estimated price for the tunnel had increased by $2.5 billion, and that Amtrak had not yet found ways to reduce costs.
“The department has had conversations with many stakeholders in the infrastructure-engineering space to understand opportunities to get this project back on track,” Mr. Sizemore said.
Amtrak did not have immediate comment. The Boring Company and Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
The Frederick Douglass Tunnel is set to replace the 152-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, a 1.4-mile route along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. It is the “single largest infrastructure effort” led by Amtrak, according to a report last year by Amtrak’s inspector general office, which also expressed concerns over ballooning costs and missed deadlines. The tunnel was expected to be completed by 2035.
Last year, Amtrak selected a joint venture between two construction companies, Kiewit and J.F. Shea, to build the tunnel. The firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Previously, Republicans including Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and the current vice president, JD Vance, criticized the awarding of federal funds to the project for “favoring Northeastern states over the rest of the country.”
New York Times
Great idea to innovate for Amtrak. Elon has good ideas and sound businesses.
Thanks Elon.
Innovation is important for rail network why not allow Mr. Musk to install a new boring line and lets see how it performs and look to expanding if it works well.
Could work well worth a try.