Dive Brief:
- Continuing the most significant federal investment in passenger rail since Amtrak was created 50 years ago, the White House has released $8.2 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to fund 10 major passenger rail projects around the country.
- The largest grants will go to Brightline West, the Raleigh to Richmond rail program and the California High-Speed Rail, according to a Friday White House press release.
- In addition to building two new high-speed corridors, the projects will repair and upgrade aging rail infrastructure in order to improve commutes, strengthen freight rail supply chains and slash greenhouse emissions from car travel.
Dive Insight:
The investments will create tens of thousands of union jobs in construction and related industries, per the release. The money will go through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program, established by the IIJA. The act contains $66 billion for passenger rail overall over five years.
On Friday the White House also announced it had identified 69 rail corridors in 44 states that could benefit from federal funding for capital improvements or new construction through the Corridor Identification and Development program, also created by the IIJA. Each project is eligible to receive up to $500,000.
To date, the White House has announced $30 billion from the 2021 IIJA for rail projects across the country, including passenger rail and freight rail safety projects and efforts to upgrade or mitigate railroad crossings. In November, Amtrak got $16.4 billion for 25 passenger rail projects along the Northeast Corridor, a route that links Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
The 10 projects in Friday’s announcement that will get funding from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program are:
- Up to $3 billion for Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail project: The funding will help build the new $8 billion, 218-mile high-speed passenger rail system between California and Las Vegas, which will serve more than 11 million passengers each year.
- $3.07 billion for California High-Speed Rail: The $128 billion, 500-mile high-speed rail line through California’s Central Valley will ultimately link Los Angeles and San Francisco. The funding will enable it to design and extend the line between Bakersfield and Merced, procure new high-speed trains and construct the Fresno station.
- Up to $1.1 billion for the Raleigh to Richmond (R2R) Innovating Rail Program: The funding will go to building out the Southeast Corridor from Raleigh to Wake Forest in North Carolina, which will eventually extend to Richmond, Virginia. The investment enables the development of a resilient and reliable passenger rail route that will also improve freight and supply chain resiliency in the region.
- $729 million for the Long Bridge project: Part of the Transforming Rail in Virginia — Phase II program, the funding to construct a new two-track rail bridge over the Potomac River will expand passenger rail capacity and reduce congestion on the heavily-traveled corridor between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia.
- $143.6 for the Pennsylvania Keystone Corridor: Upgrades will extend Amtrak service west of Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. The project includes right-of-way acquisition plus design and construction of various track and signal improvements along Norfolk Southern Railway’s railroad.
- $49.6 million for Chicago Union Station: The station, one of the nation’s busiest rail hubs, nabbed nearly $100 million total to boost capacity. The first project would reopen a platform formerly used by the U.S. Postal Service for intercity rail service.
- Another $44 million for Chicago Union Station: This project would renovate and expand passenger platforms, bring facilities into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and improve ventilation.
- $27.5 million for the Downeaster Corridor: The funding will help the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority improve existing service and prepare for future expansion on the Downeaster Corridor connecting Boston to Brunswick, Maine.
- $14.9 million for Amtrak in Montana: The money will fund track and infrastructure improvements on BNSF tracks where Amtrak’s Empire Builder service operates in Montana along a route carrying Amtrak’s Empire Builder long-distance rail service between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest.
- $8.2 million for key Alaska Railroad Corp. bridge: The money would enable the company to replace its milepost 190.5 bridge on its North Corridor main line, which carries freight and intercity passenger trains.
