The Federal Railroad Administration announced the grants to dozens of projects for expanding or building new rail corridors.
Passenger rail projects throughout the United States got a boost this week with an infusion of $8.2 billion in grants from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), reports Brandon Lewis in Mass Transit.
The grants are awarded through the Federal State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (Fed-State National) Program and the Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program and include projects on new or existing rail corridors.
“As part of the Fed-State National program, Amtrak has been awarded more than $2.1 billion to improve existing routes and advance plans to expand Amtrak service across the United States.” Grantees include California’s long-delayed high-speed rail project, which is making headway in the Central Valley, and the new Brightline West HSR line between Las Vegas and Southern California.
The new Corridor ID program funds planning and development activities for new or existing rail routes, such as the proposed Cascadia High-Speed Rail Corridor in the Pacific Northwest, a new HSR line between Dallas and Houston, and expanded service on key Florida lines.
FULL STORY: FRA awards $8.2 billion in funding for passenger rail projects through two grant programs
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