FRA AWARDS INTERCITY PASSENGER-RAIL GRANTS FOR 15 PROJECTS
From Progressive Railroading.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced recipients of the state intercity passenger-rail grant program. The Federal Railroad Administration awarded grants totaling $30 million for 15 projects designed to reduce delays and expand capacity on existing passenger-rail routes, or launch new intercity service.
The states that received grants are:
Arizona -- $1 million to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a new service in the 140-mile Sun Corridor between Phoenix and Tuscon;
California -- $5 million for a 4.5-mile double-track project in the San Joaquin Corridor to reduce Amtrak delays;
Illinois -- $1.5 million to install Centralized Traffic Control on a 24.7-mile segment of the Chicago-to-St. Louis corridor between Joliet and Mazonia, and $1.8 million to install a cab signal system on an 118.4-mile segment between Mazonia and Ridgely;
Maine -- $500,000 for Portland-area track improvements;
Minnesota -- $1.1 million for a Programmatic EIS for a 150-mile Twin Cities-to-Duluth high-speed rail line;
Missouri -- $3.3 million to build a passing track near California, and complete preliminary engineering for a second passing track in Knob Noster;
New York -- $1.22 million for track and signal improvements at Albany-Rensselaer Station;
Ohio -- $62,500 for a planning and alternatives analysis for the proposed Cleveland-Columbus-Dayton-Cincinnati corridor;
Vermont -- $450,000 to replace one mile of rail and re-deck four bridges on the state-supported Vermonter route, and $581,775 for a two-mile track reconstruction project near Rutland;
Virginia -- $2 million to construct a third track south of Fredericksburg Station;
Washington -- $6 million to conduct preliminary engineering and an environmental review, and acquire right of way for a 1.2-mile segment of the 19.5-mile Point Defiance Bypass project between Tacoma and Nisqually; and
Wisconsin -- $5 million to install 17.8 miles of continuous-welded rail between Milwaukee and the Wisconsin/Illinois border, replacing the last sections of remaining jointed rail on the Milwaukee-to-Chicago corridor, and $297,000 to conduct an alternatives analysis and planning study for the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced recipients of the state intercity passenger-rail grant program. The Federal Railroad Administration awarded grants totaling $30 million for 15 projects designed to reduce delays and expand capacity on existing passenger-rail routes, or launch new intercity service.
The states that received grants are: