Dive Brief:
- The Federal Railroad Administration will fund various passenger rail projects in 23 states through a $5.3 billion investment package, according to an Aug. 14 release from the Department of Transportation.
- The funding, authorized by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes about $2 billion previously allocated to California’s high-speed rail project, from which the Trump administration withdrew federal support.
- In total, the dollars will help close more than 30 grade crossings and upgrade over 1,000 others with new infrastructure and technology, in addition to about $2.2 billion for Amtrak equipment purchases, according to the announcement.
Dive Insight:
The move will put contractors to work on “high risk” crossings for closure and replacement, according to the announcement.
The DOT defines “high-risk” as sections with a documented accident history of three or more incidents or two or more fatal incidents during the last five years, according to the release. Grade crossings, or intersections where roads cross railroad tracks at-grade, are the second leading cause of rail-related deaths in the U.S., according to the release.
The full list of the various rail infrastructure upgrades and grade crossings eliminations can be found here. Some of those major awards include:
- $356 million for Florida DOT to perform “good repair” improvements at up to 910 highway-rail grade crossings.
- $299 million for the North Carolina DOT to eliminate nine grade crossings and install double track segments.
- $189 million for the Texas DOT to eliminate nine crossings in Dallas, Fort Worth and Terrell and an additional $39 million for Hays County, Texas, to build a grade-separated bridge.
- $40 million for the city of Fairfield, Ohio, to close two at-grade rail crossings and create a new bridge.
- $2.5 million for the city of New Orleans to make critical repairs to 70-year-old platforms and canopies at the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal.
- $1.1 million for Crete, Nebraska, to examine eight existing at-grade crossings to determine what future infrastructure improvements might be needed.
The FRA received 103 eligible applications from 78 entities requesting a total of about $11.7 billion, according to the release. Funding will come from the National Railroad Partnership Program, an IIIJA initiative which provides federal funding to improve U.S. passenger rail assets.
