The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Oct. 29 reported that 122 freight and passenger rail improvement projects—including 81 at short lines—across 41 states will share more than $2.4 billion in grant funding through the FY2023-24 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.
While most projects in this funding round cover direct rail improvements—such as upgrading track, replacing or rehabilitating aging bridges, expanding rail connections at ports, improving grade crossing and trespassing safety, and adding modern locomotives to fleets—they also support the creation of new apprenticeship programs, expansion of training opportunities, establishment of partnerships with universities, and advancement innovative research, FRA said. For example, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) was selected to receive more than $20 million for a project that includes the development of a national short line data survey process, and, by installing advanced digital on-board systems on more than 600 locomotives, will allow for the collection and analysis of information across short lines, including energy usage, idling, and emission data; the results, according to the association, will be used to support freight rail system operating efficiency, investment, and development. Also, more than $9 million was awarded to the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen for a project that “aims to develop an effective strategy for integrating wayside hot box detectors into the current on-board Positive Train Control [PTC] system” and that “will proactively address train derailments caused by wheel and bearing failure through the development of new tools and training,” according to FRA; HUM Industrial Technology, ENSCO, and the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley will contribute the 20% non-federal match.
The CRISI Program is the only federal grant program for which short lines are directly eligible, and this round of funding includes a record $1.29 billion for their projects, representing 52% of awards, across 36 states.
Following are a sampling of other CRISI projects selected for awards (scroll down to download complete list):
- In Illinois, more than $157 million will be invested in the Springfield Rail Improvements Project Final Usable Segment: Phase VIb: North Grand Ave. and IIIc: Multimodal Transportation Center Project, which will consolidate the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern corridors into one multitrack corridor through the city and advance the efforts to provide a higher speed intercity passenger rail connection between St. Louis and Chicago, according to FRA. In addition to track improvements and new grade crossing separations, the project will also construct a Multimodal Transportation Center that the aency said will help “better connect public transportation options such as passenger rail, local bus service, and intercity bus service.”
- In North Carolina, more than $105.5 million will be invested in the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) Carolinian and Piedmont Passenger and Freight Improvements Project, to improve the capacity of the NCRR’s NC-Line to meet the growing demands of both freight and passenger rail traffic, FRA said. Upgrades would add more than five miles of sidings, reconstruct up to 69 miles of track, eliminate one grade crossing, and improve track geometry. The project is slated to increase on-time performance for existing Amtrak routes, allow for additional passenger trains along the growing corridor, and meet the needs of a growing manufacturing sector.
- In partnership with Amtrak, more than $14 million will help implement a 36-month Mechanical Craft Workforce Development Apprenticeship Training Program to build a skilled mechanical craft workforce for Amtrak to maintain its fleet of equipment, according to FRA. The project will improve safety and service performance by providing Amtrak job opportunities and career paths in various mechanical crafts. The apprenticeship program is a collaboration between Amtrak and several labor unions, with programs being offered in Beech Grove, Ind.; Wilmington, Del.; Washington, D.C.; New York, N.Y.; Chicago, Ill.; and Los Angeles, Calif.
- In Georgia, more than $26.5 million will be invested in Colonel’s Island Rail Improvements Project. The project, in partnership with the Georgia Ports Authority, will improve the Myd Harris Yard and construct a new South Side Rail Yard at the Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick, creating new opportunities to move automotive shipments by rail instead of truck, FRA said. Specifically, for the South Side Rail Yard, the project will construct four new yard tracks, estimated at approximately 23,735 feet of track, and construct south side auto storage area and a perimeter road, as well as grade separate an existing crossing. Additionally, the project will lengthen and reconfigure tracks at the existing Myd Harris Yard to improve operational efficiency and bring rail switching activities inside the terminal and away from the adjacent neighborhood.
- In Arizona, more than $21.6 million will be invested in the Eastern Arizona Rail Safety, Efficiency, and Resiliency Project, which will rehabilitate approximately 34 miles of track, replace three aging timber bridges, install two emergency crossings, cut brush within rights-of-way, and retrofit two tank cars for firefighting. The project will address infrastructure vulnerabilities in a location with a history of wildfires, FRA said.
- In Michigan, more than $67 million will be invested in Detroit RECHARGED – Realizing Environmental Changes Happening Around Railroads Generating Equitable Development. This project will improve and expand the Livernois Intermodal Facility by installing approximately 17,200 feet of new track and upgrading paving, as well as replacing diesel gantry cranes with new hybrid and fully electric gantry cranes in Detroit and Wayne County, Mich. FRA said it will benefit local business owners and surrounding residents by improving service performance, improving multimodal connections, and reducing negative environmental impacts.
- In California, more than $36.5 million will be invested in the Go Zero Emission Rail Operation Project to Replace Locomotives with Zero-Emission (ZE) Battery-Electric (BE) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Locomotives and Installation 4 ZE Battery Chargers. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) project was selected for final design and construction and includes replacement of 10 diesel locomotives with nine zero-emission battery-electric locomotives and one hydrogen fuel-cell-powered locomotive, and installation of four battery chargers throughout California. Anacostia Rail Holdings’ Pacific Harbor Line will acquire five battery-electric locomotives and two battery chargers; Watco will acquire four battery-electric locomotives and two battery chargers; and Sacramento Valley Railroad will acquire one hydrogen fuel-cell-powered locomotive.
- In California, $100 million will be invested in the Coastal Rail Infrastructure Resiliency Project. The Orange County Transportation Authority’s (OCTA) project was selected for final design and construction and track improvements along Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner Corridor on OCTA-owned infrastructure. “The project aligns with the selection criteria of improving effects on safety and climate resilience by stabilizing the track against the effects of sea-level rise and beach erosion, which will increase the reliability of intercity passenger rail, freight, and commuter rail service,” FRA reported. “The project will also increase system and service performance by decreasing delays caused by weather-related incidents in the project area.”
- In California, more than $24.6 million will be invested in the DTX Final Design for Track and Rail Systems. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority’s project was selected for final design and includes “activities to support the development of the track and rail systems package and to perform the value engineering, constructability review, and risk-management programs associated with the trackwork and rail systems scope for the Downtown Rail Extension (DTX) to accommodate California high-speed rail (CHSR) and Caltrain commuter rail into the newly built, multimodal Salesforce Transit Center in downtown San Francisco,” according to FRA.
- In California, more than $3.8 million will be invested in the Development of a Passenger Railroad Trespassing Mitigation Toolbox, Addressing Built Environment and Human Factors Based on California Railroad Data project. The Regents of the University of California, U.C. San Diego will use the funding for research on trespassing accidents on passenger railroads to better understand the environment, track structure, station areas, and rail-highway crossing attributes related to areas of high trespassing activity along six rail lines in California. The project will review historical trespassing accidents on the following railroad services: Coaster, Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquins, Altamont Corridor Express, Caltrain, and the Capitol Corridor “to develop a toolkit to understand how, where, and why trespassing occurs and to propose preventative measures,” according to FRA.
- In Delaware, more than $14 million will be invested in the Center for Hands-On Training and Learning Environment for the Next Generation Railroad Technical Workforce – HTL Center. The proposed project, led by the University of Delaware, will utilize the HTL (High Tonnage Loop) at the Transportation Technology Center to “educate the next generation of railroad technical professionals through technical training, experiential learning opportunities, and data sharing,” FRA said. The University of Delaware, Oklahoma State University, AP Sensing, Morgan State University, Michigan Technological University, OptiFuel, Global Rail Group, Loram, and ENSCO will provide a 20% non-federal match.
- In the District of Columbia, more than $58 million will be invested in the Shunt Enhancement Safety Project. Amtrak’s project includes procurement and installation of Onboard Shunt Enhancement (OSE) devices on a total of 443 locomotives and 192 cab cars on the nationwide Amtrak-operated fleet. Amtrak and California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin State Departments of Transportation will contribute the 20% non-Federal match.
- In Alaska, more than $43 million will be invested in the Bridge 413.7 Rehabilitation Project. Alaska Railroad Corporation’s (ARRC) project was selected for final design and construction and includes rehabilitation of the existing 1,298-foot, 12-span, through truss bridge across the Tanana River in Nenana, Alaska, which carries main line freight and passenger rail traffic between Fairbanks and Anchorage.
- In Colorado, more than $66 million will be invested in the Modernizing Rail on the Front Range: PTC Installation, Siding, & Grade Crossing Safety and Operational Improvements project. The Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) project will design, install, and test PTC on a portion of the Front Range Subdivision, including the construction of a new siding. Additionally, FRA said it will improve several railroad crossings at five locations along the Subdivision.
- In Colorado, more than $50 million will be invested in the Transportation Investments for Employment and Safety, Phase 2 project. The project includes replacement of railroad ties on four OmniTRAX-owned short lines across four states: Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, and Washington.
- In Indiana, more than $21 million will be invested in the Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad Supply Chain Equipment Project. The Central Railroad Company of Indianapolis (d.b.a. CFE) project includes acquisition of a 26-car continuous welded rail (CWR) train and 75 ballast cars to support the Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad. The acquisition will directly address the growing industry shortage of CWR trains and ballast cars that are needed to further infrastructure investments, according to FRA.
- In Kentucky, more than $32 million will be invested in the Kentucky Freight Rail Improvement Program. The R.J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC project includes rehabilitation of track on three short line corridors in Kentucky. The project will rehabilitate approximately 30 miles of track, replace crossties, add ballast, surface, and tighten bolts along the Central Kentucky Lines; rehabilitate the 20-mile main line, replace crossties, add ballast, surface, and tighten bolts along the Bardstown Line; and rehabilitate approximately 14 miles of track, replace approximately 75 specialty railcars with flatcars, and expand track capacity at the Russellville production plant.
- In Ohio, more than $6.9 million will be invested in the BIP Railroad Regional Connectivity Improvements Project. Cathcart Rail LLC’s project involves activities to repair two bridges on the Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad, a 2021 Railway Age Small-Road Honorable Mention, in Ohio (BIP) and West Virginia.
- In Ohio, more than $12 million will be invested in the Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway: Critical Safety Upgrade, Phase 3 project. The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) project includes activities to replace deteriorating and broken rail and ties and expand capacity along the eastern half of the Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway. The project is the third and final phase of the full corridor rehabilitation of Napoleon, Defiance & Western track. “The project aligns with the selection criteria because it will improve safety, resilience, and operational efficiency, which will benefit rail customers and service in Paulding and Defiance Counties in Ohio,” FRA said. Contributing the 25% non-federal match will be Ohio Rail Development Commission and Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway, a Patriot Rail-owned company that was the 2023 Railway Age Short Line of the Year.
- In Pennsylvania, more than $48.4 million will be invested in the Development of Enabling Technologies for Hydrogen Adoption in Rail project. East Erie Commercial Rail’s project was selected for research and development and includes activities to “understand the feasibility of hydrogen dual-fuel internal combustion engine and liquid hydrogen tender technologies,” FRA reported. “This demonstration will be conducted at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colo., to support educating rail operators, first responders, and other stakeholders about how to safely handle hydrogen, in addition to developing best practices for operationalizing and maintaining these technologies for rail. The project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing safety, as it will further the testing and training awareness with hydrogen movements and seek to better understand the potential utilization of a newer technology.” Wabtec, Linde, and Greenbrier will contribute the 20% non-federal match.
The FRA reported that there were 271 applicants for the FY23-24 CRISI grants, requesting $7.4 billion in funding.
“Today’s CRISI grants will enhance rail safety, better connect towns, cities, and ports, introduce more environmentally friendly locomotives, support the current rail workforce, and provide workforce development opportunities essential to the future of our industry and the national economy,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said.
“Short line railroads are a growth driver of the freight rail industry,” commented Chuck Baker, President of ASLRRA. “FRA’s recognition of the benefits that can be delivered by each dollar invested in these small businesses is evident in the overwhelming success of short line applications in this latest grant cycle. Congress and the FRA can be confident that short lines will put these public dollars to good use, providing new and efficient ways of serving customers, linking small town and rural America to U.S. and international markets, improving and expanding infrastructure that will drive safety improvements, and investing in next-generation technology and locomotives that will reduce the already low environmental impact of rail. For some short lines these awards are utterly transformational, while for others the awards allow them to continue a long journey towards rehabilitating their infrastructure, but for each of them this is a key chapter in their story.”
According to ASLRRA, of the 81 short line projects awarded CRISI grants, 17 include grade crossing and trespassing safety elements; 15 involve replacing or improving bridges; and 10 will upgrade or purchase 59 locomotives at the Tier 3, Tier 4 or zero emission levels.
