FRA announces $272 million in 'state of good repair' grants

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) yesterday announced more than $272 million in grant funding to 10 rail projects through the department's State of Good Repair Program.

The grants will help 10 states pay for projects that will help to repair and rehabilitate railroad infrastructure, FRA officials said in a press release.

The following are the 10 states, projects and grant amounts announced for fiscal years 2017 and 2018:
• Illinois, where Metra was awarded up to $17.8 million. The project calls for constructing a new grade-separated, double-tracked rail bridge over Milwaukee Avenue north of the Grayland Metra Station on Metra's Milwaukee District-North Line in Chicago.
• Louisiana, which was awarded up to $3.7 million to complete final design for upgrading station platforms and train service capabilities at the city-owned New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal. The platform modifications will bring the platforms into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, increase platform height to provide level boarding for two Amtrak trains (Sunset Limited and City of New Orleans) and improve the step height for a third train (Crescent) that serve the station.
• Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which was awarded up to $41.2 million to replace and upgrade Tower I interlocking, a major rail network junction at the entrance to the Boston South Station terminal area.
• Michigan Department of Transportation, which was awarded up to $23.3 million for a project located on the Michigan-owned segment of the Chicago to Detroit/Pontiac corridor. The project entails rehabbing rail, crossties and track surfaces between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, and replacing two railroad bridges in Jackson.
• North Carolina Department of Transportation, which was awarded up to $76.9 million for the Piedmont intercity fleet and infrastructure investments project. The project involves the acquisition of 13 new passenger coaches for use in the Piedmont service and an expansion of the Charlotte Locomotive and Rail-car Maintenance Facility.
• New Jersey Transit, which was awarded up to $18.4 million for platform D improvements at Newark Penn Station. The project includes repairing and/or replacing Platform D slabs and joints, reconstructing platform edges, installing new tactile strips and timber rub rails, repairing the overhead canopy and upgrading lighting.
• Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which was awarded up to $15.1 million to rehab and upgrade interlocking in Philadelphia at the junction of the Amtrak-owned Keystone Corridor and Northeast Corridor main lines. Work will include slope stabilization and reconstruction of retaining walls, rehabilitation of an existing but underutilized track, and switch and signal reconfiguration.
• Rhode Island Department of Transportation, which was awarded up to $12.5 million for a major rehabilitation of the Amtrak station in Providence.
• Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which was awarded up to $37.5 million to procure three new consists for use in the Amtrak Cascades service between Eugene, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The project will replace the three Washington state-owned Talgo VI trainsets: two used in current service and one damaged in the December 2017 derailment. The loss of the damaged trainset reduced the Amtrak Cascades schedule from six to four daily round trips. The project will enable WSDOT to meet existing and anticipated passenger demand, and allow Washington to retire its Talgo VI trainsets.
• Wisconsin Department of Transportation, which was awarded up to $25.7 million to replace deteriorated, outdated passenger cab-baggage and coach cars used in the Chicago–Milwaukee Amtrak Hiawatha service with three single-level cab-coach cars and six single-level coach cars. The Hiawatha service is Amtrak’s ninth-busiest route, and its busiest route in the Midwest.

The FRA's State of Good Repair Program provides funding repair, replace, or rehabilitate publicly or Amtrak owned or controlled railroad equipment, infrastructure and facilities.

The program is intended to improve intercity passenger rail performance. Eligible projects include upgrading infrastructure such as track, switches, bridges, and highway-rail grade crossings; stations; and equipment, including passenger cars.

In the FY2017-18 program, the FRA mandated a 20 percent non-federal match requirement. The selected projects went above and beyond that requirement, FRA officials said.