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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently awarded $15 million to nine states for emergency repairs to rail infrastructure damaged by natural disasters.

The FRA provided funds from its Railroad Rehabilitation and Repair Program to the state departments of transportation to reimburse regionals and short lines for repair costs. The program covers up to 80 percent of the cost to repair bridges, signals and other rail infrastructure.

Grant recipients include:
• the Alaska DOT and Public Facilities for Alaska Railroad Corp. flood repairs (two grants, $945,680 and $637,440);
• Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department for Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad emergency repairs, $737,292;
• Illinois DOT for flood control on the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, $569,700;
• Kansas DOT for flood damage repairs to the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad’s Gorilla Subdivision, $405,702;
• Indiana DOT for flood damage repairs on the Indiana Southern Railroad, $1.2 million;
• Iowa DOT for flood damage restoration to rebuild a bridge and repair signals on the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway ($7 million), flood damage restoration for the Keokuk Junction Railway’s yard ($459,200) and replacement of the Waterloo Bridge over the Cedar River for the Iowa Northern Railway ($2.1 million);
• Missouri DOT for flood damage repair on Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad, $353,600;
• North Carolina DOT for repair of track washouts and debris removal on the Carolina Coastal Railway, $11,101; and
• Wisconsin DOT for flood damage and washout repairs on the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, $354,006.

The FRA is authorized to make $20 million available for grants to repair and rehabilitate rail infrastructure damaged in federal disaster areas. The administration plans to soon issue another solicitation for the remaining $5 million in funds.