Key Takeaways From Last Week's FRA Grants

by Sean Jeans-Gail | VP of Gov't Affairs + Policy

--

As Rail Passengers reported last week, the FRA announced $5.3 billion for passenger rail projects last week as part of the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program – National (FSP-N), rebranded by the Trump Administration as the National Railroad Partnership Program.

Based on our analysis of the 41 selected projects, several clear patterns emerge from the award data.

[Click here for a Rail Passengers-created spreadsheet of all 41 projects]

[Click here for an FRA-created map of FY24-26 FSP-N awards]

---

Amtrak Biggest Recipient of Funds

The two nationwide Amtrak projects accounted for the lion’s share of funding, driven almost entirely by the $2.05 Fleet and Facilities to Secure the Future of Amtrak State Supported Intercity Passenger Rail Service award, which accounts for 39% of total funding.

Of the 41 selected projects, nine projects (22%) list Amtrak as the lead or co-lead sponsor of the project.

Additionally, existing Amtrak routes were primary beneficiaries for nearly every award in this round of funding.

---

Amtrak Restructuring Receives Set-Aside?

In a footnote to the Fleet and Facilities to Secure the Future of Amtrak State Supported Intercity Passenger Rail Service award, the FRA writes: “Activities under this award may include project management to transition to a new management and pricing structure that will directly benefit the States using the equipment purchased as part of this award, including establishing or supporting subsidiaries, if applicable.”

Amtrak’s Board of Directors recently voted to advance a study of restructuring the railroad into an operational entity, an infrastructure management entity, and a fleet management entity.

However, there were questions about whether Congress would provide enough funding for Amtrak to move ahead with this restructuring in the coming year. The FRA—a key driver behind the restructuring proposal—may just have answered that question.

---

Handful of States Emerge as Winners

There were several states who stood out as clear winners in this round. While many of them are traditional passenger rail powerhouses, such as Illinois and North Carolina, we also saw states like Texas jump to the fore.

Texas: Texas received approximately $820 million (15% of total funding). This came through five major grade-separation projects, including a $385 million Sunset Limited Grade Separations grant and a $190 million Texas Eagle/Heartland Flyer Grade Separations grant.

Illinois: Illinois received approximately $696 million (13% of total funding), primarily from:

• Midwest Maintenance Facilities Modernization P3 ($572M)
• Chicago Rail Bridge Renewal P3 ($87M)
• South Branch Bridge Rehabilitation ($37M)

All three were Amtrak-sponsored projects.

Florida: Florida received approximately $497 million (9% of total funding), led by:

• SAFE-IPR Program ($356M)
• St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge Replacement ($79M)
• Cocoa Multimodal Station project ($58M)

North Carolina: North Carolina's Piedmont Corridor Safety Program received $300 million (6% of total funding).

---

Freight Railroads Also Stand to Benefit

These grants were designed by Congress to facilitate the upgrade and expansion of the U.S. passenger rail network. However, given the FRA's emphasis on incremental upgrades and improvements to existing services that rely on freight railroad tracks, several Class 1 railroads will also see clear benefits to their operations as a result of these investments.

Union Pacific (UP): Union Pacific appears to be the largest freight railroad beneficiary of these grants. Major UP-related projects include:

• Colorado SAFER Travel Project
• Multiple Texas grade separations
• Houston Rail Safety and Mobility Project
• FM 3009 Project
• Sunset Limited Grade Separations

UP infrastructure has benefitted from around $800 million in project investments, largely concentrated in Texas.

BNSF Railway: BNSF appears to be the second largest beneficiary. Projects affecting BNSF infrastructure include:

• Cherry Avenue Grade Separation
• Marceline Subdivision Grade Separations
• Poplar Rail Corridor Study
• Havre Terminal Improvements
• Crete Crossing Study
• California Zephyr Reliability Improvement
• East Spokane County Safety Study
• Oklahoma Tecumseh Road Separation
• Several Texas and Midwest corridor projects

Combined, BNSF-related projects exceed $500 million in direct investment, with upgrades to major portions of the Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon corridors.

CSX: CSX appears to be the third-largest freight beneficiary. Major CSX-related projects include:

• Jacksonville Station Relocation
• South Carolina Rail Improvement Program
• Portland Station Relocation
• Virginia crossing improvements
• Ohio grade separation

---

Conclusions

With the FY24-26 FSP-N awards, the FRA focused on improving the existing passenger rail network through the replacement of aging assets, improving operations through grade separations, expanding and modernizing Amtrak equipment, and increasing reliability on freight-owned corridors.

This is a sensible strategy, though Rail Passengers must admit we are disappointed we didn’t see any emphasis on introducing service along new corridors.

Grade Separations Dominate Awards: The most common project type was elimination of at-grade crossings through bridges, overpasses, underpasses, and through the sealing of corridors.

While this should improve on-time performance and trip time for passengers, the FRA emphasized safety improvements in its project descriptions.

State of Good Repair a Major Priority: Many of the grants focused on projects to address 100+ year-old infrastructure elements, including:

• South Branch Bridge (110+ years old)
• St. Lucie River Bridge (100 years old)
• East Alburgh Bridge (112 years old)

Beyond those critical projects, the FRA clearly placed an emphasis on addressing aging track infrastructure, rolling stock replacement, and the attendant upgrades to maintenance facilities.

Long-Distance Routes Received Strong Support: While previous rounds of FSP-N funding prioritized State-supported routes, the FY24-26 grant selections place a greater emphasis on how these projects will benefit existing long-distance routes (with project descriptions repeatedly reference the statutory set-aside for long-distance routes).