The Federal Railroad Administration has announced that it is awarding upwards of $386 million in grants for a variety of passenger rail infrastructure projects in some 32 states.
The funding is more specifically coming through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program which is designed to support rail construction, upgrades, and repairs.
Exactly 46 individual projects have been chosen, with the one of the largest at $57.9 million, being the survey and engineering work for the building of a rail service corridor connecting Raleigh, North Carolina with Richmond, Virginia.
Just over $7 million will target an urban safety rail crossing project in Phoenix; while upwards of $9.5 million is going for the advanced preliminary engineering and land acquisition for a long-planned grade-separated interchange in Commerce City, Colorado.
A second Colorado project, the reconstruction of the South Downtown railroad underpass in Colorado Springs, is getting $2.5 million.
In a statement announcing the grants, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants are designed to “improve passenger rail for riders and strengthen the freight rail that makes our supply chains and our economy work.”
Funded through the big Infrastructure and Jobs Act, the grant program is particularly tasked with relocating rail lines and enhancing multi-model connections.
In announcing the grant funding opportunities last year, Amit Bose, head of the Federal Railroad Administration, advised that applicants were expected to “address necessity, accountability, racial equity, and climate change.”
By Garry Boulard
