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Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Information from FRA

On November 15, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—a generational investment in America’s intermodal transportation system of which freight and intercity passenger rail are an integral part and an engine of our economy. The investments will:

  • Help make our nation’s rail network safer, more reliable, resilient, sustainable, and equitable. 
  • Improve the lives of Americans, create good paying jobs, and lay the foundation for America to compete in the 21st Century.  

What Does This Mean for FRA? 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58), also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”, will provide unprecedented Federal funding for rail improvement projects in America. Over the next five years, that means greatly expanding existing Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) programs and creating new programs to enhance our nation’s rail network. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $102 billion in total rail funding, including $66 billion from advanced appropriations, and $36 billion in authorized funding.

BIL funding

Recent Milestones

Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (Northeast Corridor) Selections Announcement – November 15, 2024
FRA announced that it has awarded nearly $1.5 billion in Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) Grant Program funding to 19 projects along the Northeast Corridor (NEC), which runs from Washington, D.C., to Boston, Massachusetts. Projects selected will further repair and replace vital NEC infrastructure to provide faster, safer, and more reliable service on America’s busiest intercity passenger rail corridor. Projects selected in this funding round will replace aging catenary structures susceptible to failures that contribute to travel delays; improve signal systems necessary to increase capacity, operating speeds, and safety; and support planning activities to expand Washington Union Station in the Nation’s capital. These projects and others will further reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog on the corridor.

Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program Selections Announcement – October 29, 2024
FRA announced that it has awarded more than $2.4 billion in CRISI Program funding to 122 rail improvement projects in 41 states. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law quadrupled the amount of funding available under the CRISI Program for projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail. In particular, FY23-24 CRISI selections represent projects that upgrade track, replace or rehabilitate aging bridges, expand rail connections at ports, add modern locomotives to fleets, and more. Selected projects will mitigate freight and passenger rail congestion to support more efficient movement of people and goods, enhance multi-modal connections, and lead to new or substantially improved intercity passenger rail transportation corridors.

Corridor Identification and Development Program: Implementing Process Improvements for Steps 1 and 2 Webinar – October 22, 2024

FRA hosted a webinar to provide an in-depth look at Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program policy updates announced during the FRA Rail Program Delivery Workshop and presented at the 2024 AASHTO Council on Rail Transportation Annual Meeting. The recent policy updates aim to meet project sponsors where they are and help them move through the Corridor ID Program more quickly. The webinar will also touch on the possible variations in the Service Development Plan and how they are scoped in Step 1 and then implemented in Step 2.

  • To view presentation materials from the October 22, 2024, webinar and other Corridor ID Program webinars, visit FRA's Webinars page, Corridor ID Program drop-down.

Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (FSP) Grant Program (National) – September 30, 2024
The Federal-State Partnership (FSP) Program makes available $1,057,596,637 to fund capital projects that reduce the state of good repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service for projects not located on the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The total amount of FY 2024 funding made available for projects not located on the NEC from IIJA 2024 Advance Appropriations and the 2024 Appropriation is $2,232,000,000. From this amount, FRA intends to obligate up to $1,212,765,863 to fulfill FY 2024 contingent commitments to FSP projects previously selected for Phased Funding Agreements under the FY 2022-2023 FSP-National NOFO.

Funding Opportunities

FRA expects to begin announcing the availability of funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grant programs over the coming months. FRA encourages you to periodically check the FRA website for updates and information on how to apply for such grant funding. Grant funding will be made available through Notices of Funding Opportunity, which will be posted in the Federal Register. General information about FRA’s grant programs is also available under the Competitive Discretionary Grant Programs section of FRA’s website. If you would like to be added to FRA’s mailing list to learn about future NOFOs and webinars, please subscribe and select “Program Delivery” announcements.

Learn More

To learn more about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and rail, watch the video from FRA Administrator Amit Bose and view the links for additional information about FRA’s programs.