In a major boost for railroad infrastructure, both passenger and freight, the Federal Railroad Administration is awarding $2.4 billion in grants to 122 rail projects that aim to improve rail safety, resilience and efficiency.
The grants, which FRA and its parent U.S. Dept. of Transportation announced on Oct. 30, will go to projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia. The projects span a range of types of work, including track upgrades, bridge replacements and rehabilitations and other improvements.
The grants are the latest round of funding from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) Program. Congress created CRISI in 2015, but the program saw its authorization rise to $1 billion annually for five years under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
FRA Administrator Amit Bose said in a statement that with the IIJA funds, the agency is “reversing a half-century of federal underinvestment in America’s rail network and delivering the world-class rail our citizens deserve.”
The largest grant in the group is a maximum of $215.1 million to the New York State DOT to replace the Livingston Avenue movable rail bridge, which crosses the Hudson River between the capital of Albany and Rensselaer, N.Y.
The project will, among other things, allow simultaneous two-track operations, remove speed restrictions, improve operating speeds and increase track vertical and horizontal clearances, according to an FRA fact sheet.
New York State will provide a 60% nonfederal match for the project.
Recipients of other large awards include the city of Springfield, Ill. It was awarded a $157.1-million CRISI grant that will help finance track realignment and construction of a new Amtrak station in the city. The project will finish the last segment of track realignment to consolidate the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern corridors into one multitrack corridor.
The city of Springfield, Sangamon County, the Illinois Commerce Commission and Illinois DOT will provide the 20% non-federal match.
The North Carolina Railroad Co. is receiving $105.6 million for project development, final design and construction on its NC-Line. The line is facing increased demands, according to FRA.
In California, the Orange County Transportation Authority was selected for a $100-million grant for a project on Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner Corridor. Work includes final design and construction and track improvements.
The project seeks to improve resilience for rail service by stabilizing track to protect against the impact of rising sea levels and beach erosion. The transportation authority will contribute a non-federal match of about 68%.
The Wisconsin DOT won a $72.8-million grant for a bypass project in Milwaukee. The funds will go toward final design, right-of-way acquisition and construction to update and reconfigure rail and a yard at the Muskego Yard bypass. The work includes a new, two-track mainline.
The Wisconsin DOT and Amtrak will provide a 20% match.
Many Rural Projects Among Those Selected
CRISI has a legislative set-aside for projects in rural areas, which requires that at least 25% of the program's appropriated funds go to rural areas. FRA said that in the latest round, rural areas received $1.1 billion out of the $2.4 billion total awarded.
Short line railroads, which are important in rural areas, hailed the new round of the CRISI program.
Chuck Baker, president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, said the program "has proven to be transformational to the short line industry."
The association said that short lines received $1.29 billion, or 52%, of the round's total funding and 81 of the 121 projects selected were proposed by short line railroads or their partners.
