FRA awards $368 million in CRISI grant funds to 46 rail projects

The Federal Railroad Administration yesterday announced over $368 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program funds to 46 projects in 32 states and the District of Columbia.

The selected projects are designed to improve and expand passenger-rail service and fund conventional and high-speed rail lines, as well as increase supply-chain resilience and fluidity, support short lines, invest in new technology and safety advancements and benefit rail industry workforce development and training activities, FRA officials said in a press release.

The funds will also help create jobs and increase economic growth, they said. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which Congress passed in November 2021, nearly tripled funding for CRISI to $1 billion a year for the next five years.

CRISI aims to advance intercity passenger- and freight-rail projects that promote safety, economic growth, transportation equity and sustainable and resilient infrastructure. CRISI-funded projects will enhance multimodal connections, address slow orders and repair 100-year-old track to speed up the movement of goods from ports to rail to trucks to shelves, FRA officials said.

Examples of projects and grant amounts funded this year include:
• North Carolina Department of Transportation's Raleigh to Richmond Corridor Infrastructure Engineering and Safety Program, up to nearly $58 million;
• Michigan DOT's Great Lakes Corridor Improvement, up to $21.3 million, to rehabilitate track and rail assets operated by the Great Lakes Central Railroad;
• Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad's Panhandle Rural Capacity Expansion, up to $8.3 million;
• Georgia DOT’s Heart of Georgia Americus Sub Upgrade, up to $6.2 million, to replace 18 miles of rail and 2,750 crossties and make many more rail upgrades between Preston and Cordele, Georgia; and
• University of Delaware, in partnership with Morgan State University, up to $4.6 million, to create a railroad engineering program.

"These awards will allow FRA to support rail projects that lay the groundwork for future economic growth," said FRA Administrator Amit Bose.

Under the CRISI program, 25% of funding must be awarded to rural projects. In addition, $87.6 million is set aside for projects that support the development of new intercity passenger-rail service, and $25.7 million is for capital projects or engineering solutions targeting trespassing, FRA officials said.

Historically, CRISI has funded projects that improve safety and railroad infrastructure, reduce congestion, relocate rail lines, conduct rail-related research and enhance multimodal connections between rail and other modes, such as ports or intermodal facilities. Workforce development projects are also eligible to support the education and training needs of rail workers.

This year, the FRA received more than $1.1 billion in CRISI requests, which far exceeded the available funding.