This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
11/1/2024
Amtrak and its Midwestern partners have been awarded up to $300 million to improve passenger-rail service with grants from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) competitive grant program, the railroad announced yesterday.
The grants will support Amtrak priorities — such as the Chicago Hub Improvement Program (CHIP), an Amtrak-led Midwest megaproject aimed at improving passenger-rail service into Chicago — and help advance Amtrak's goal of doubling its ridership by 2040, Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said in a press release.
The CHIP project calls for critical investments in rail infrastructure, facilities and Chicago Union Station to improve regional connectivity, reduce travel times, improve safety and connect job centers, according to a project description. CHIP is led by Amtrak in partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation, Chicago Department of Transportation, Cook County, Metra, and the Michigan Department of Transportation.
"CRISI grants will benefit several Amtrak routes in the Midwest that riders rely on every day and potential future corridors that would contribute to further growth in the region," said FRA Administrator Amit Bose in the release.
Bose was in Milwaukee yesterday to announce a CRISI grant award for another Midwest rail project that will benefit Amtrak and freight-rail service. The $72.8 million CRISI grant was awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to help fund the Muskego Yard Bypass project, which calls for reconfiguring existing track and yard facilities along the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway corridor in Milwaukee. The project will eliminate freight trains from passing through the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, where Amtrak trains stop for the Empire Builder, Hiawatha and Borealis routes.
Amtrak also supported $157.1 million in CRISI grant funding for rail improvements in Springfield, Illinois; and $1.8 million in funding to the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission for the first phase of the future Midwest passenger rail project.
CRISI grant funding awarded specifically to Amtrak will support these projects: • Wolverine and Blue Water Capacity Enhancement, Niles-Glenwood Road, $8.4 million. Directly a part of CHIP, this project will advance final design for plans to increase capacity along a 19-mile, mostly single tracked segment of the Amtrak-owned Michigan Line; and • Grade Crossing Shunt Enhancement Safety Project, $58.8 million. This project includes procurement and installation of onboard shunt enhancement devices for 443 locomotives and 192 cab cars on the nationwide Amtrak-operated fleet to enhance grade crossing activation reliability.