Amtrak, passenger-rail advocates laud FRA grants to improve, expand service

Amtrak, other grant recipients and passenger-rail industry officials late last week praised the Federal Railroad Administration’s Dec. 8 announcement of $8.2 billion in grants and passenger-rail corridor selections aimed at expanding and enhancing passenger-rail service across the United States.

The 10 projects announced last week for grant funding under the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program will advance two high-speed rail corridors and fund improvements to existing rail corridors for expanded service and performance. And 69 passenger-rail corridors were chosen for the study of expanded or new passenger-rail service under the FRA’s new Corridor Identification and Development Program.

Of the grants announced, several will go directly to Amtrak; others will support existing and potential partners under the two programs.

For example, Amtrak and its Midwest partners were awarded more than $101 million to improve existing routes and advance plans to expand Amtrak service as part of the Chicago Hub Improvement Program (CHIP).

"Amtrak ridership is soaring, and these grants will allow us to further invest in Chicago Union Station and improve our services across the Midwest that radiate from Chicago," said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. "CHIP will help transform intercity passenger rail in the region by expanding capacity, increasing reliability and creating better access to our trains."

The federal funding of improving and expanding passenger-rail corridors will strengthen the nation’s economy and improve air quality, according to American Public Transportation Association President and CEO Paul Skoutelas.

"High-performance rail corridors will relieve congestion on highways and airspace and provide efficient, accessible and environmentally friendly mobility options. These are forward-looking actions that put America on the right track," Skoutelas said in a press release.

Grants awarded under the federal-state program also included $3 billion to the Nevada Department of Transportation for development of Brightline West, a new high-speed rail system between Las Vegas and Southern California. President Biden traveled to Nevada on Dec. 8 to formally announce the award. The 218-mile route  — the first to be built with American union workers — will be a fully electric, zero-emission system.

Meanwhile, the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) received a total of $1 million in Corridor ID funding to support further planning and developing of passenger rail routes from Mobile, Alabama, to New Orleans, and along the Interstate 20 between Meridian, Mississippi, and Fort Worth, Texas.

"By being accepted into the FRA program, these projects are anticipated to receive future funding allocations and move seamlessly through each phase of development toward implementation of service," SRC officials said in a news release.

Other Corridor ID selections can be viewed here. Projects selected for funding under the federal-state partnership program can be viewed here.