Overview: The purpose of Special Transportation Circumstances (STC) grants is to provide directed grant funding under the following programs in Chapter 229: Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI), Restoration and Enhancement (R&E), Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE), and Interstate Rail Compacts (IRC). STC grants are awarded to certain states that lack intercity passenger rail service or are not connected to the national rail system. See the FY 2022–2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity for more information.

Recipients: FY22-23 STC Recipients

Previous STC Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO): 

• FY 2021 NOFO
• FY 2020 NOFO
• FY 2019 NOFO
• FY 2018 NOFO
• FY 2017 NOFO

Statutory References: STC grants were authorized in Section 11301 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Pub. L. No. 114-94 (2015); 49 U.S.C. § 22907(l). The STC authorization directs the Secretary of Transportation to allocate to certain states an appropriate portion of the amounts available to programs in Chapter 229 of Title 49 of the United States Code.

Funding under this program was made available by:

• The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, Public Law 115-31, Division K, Title I
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Public Law 115-141, Division L, Title I
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, Public Law 116-6, Division G, Title I
• The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Public Law Div. 116-94, Division H, Title I
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law Div. 116-260, Division L, Title 
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law 117–103 Division L, Title I
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Public Law 117-328 Division L, Title I 
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, Division J, Title VIII (2022 and 2023 supplemental Appropriations)

Amount Appropriated by Fiscal Year:

• $2,241,100 in FY 2017
• $18,805,193 in FY 2018
• $7,982,000 in FY 2019
• $10,038,900 in FY 2020
• $11,657,404 in FY 2021
• $139,022,333 in FY 2022–FY 2023

Eligible Recipients:

• Alaska
• South Dakota
• Wyoming

Eligible Projects: 

• For Alaska, eligible projects must be a freight or passenger rail-related capital project in that state.
• For South Dakota and Wyoming, eligible projects must be freight rail capital projects in those states that are on a state rail plan developed under Chapter 227, and that provide public benefits as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 22701(2).
• The federal share of total costs for an STC project must not exceed 80 percent of the total cost of a project. The required 20 percent non-federal share may be composed of public sector (state or local) and/or private sector funding.

News:

• October 10, 2024 Press Release
• August 18, 2023 Press Release
• September 29, 2022 Press Release
• September 28, 2020 Press Release (South Dakota)
• September 28, 2020 Press Release (Alaska)
• June 12, 2019 Press Release
• August 6, 2018 Press Release
• February 15, 2018 Press Release