Last month, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a notice announcing the availability of more than $244 million in grant funding through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao described the purpose of the program, saying that “the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements grant program is an important resource for railroads to upgrade infrastructure and for communities to enhance safety on tracks and at railroad crossings.”
One quarter of the funding will be dedicated toward rural transportation systems with the intention of enabling the FRA to improve the often-overlooked rural America’s rail infrastructure. Applications eligible for funding include those with projects addressing the following key objectives, and is available to both freight and passenger rail lines:
- Highway-rail grade crossings
- Upgrade short-line railroad infrastructure
- Relocate rail lines
- Improve intercity passenger rail capital assets
- Deploy railroad safety technology
Deploying railroad safety technology includes the implementation of positive train control (PTC), a safety technology designed to prevent train accidents by automatically stopping trains if an obstacle is detected. The grant announcement comes just two weeks after a July 31 hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which revealed that several passenger and freight railroads are struggling to meet the Dec. 31, 2020 PTC implementation deadline. Many railroads have PTC fully installed and operational, but others are still at just the beginning steps of implementation.
PTC has been proven to be a highly effective technology and is anticipated to monitor trains along 60,000 miles of track, preventing derailment or accidents when it senses a dangerous situation. The FRA originally mandated PTC implementation in 2008 after a collision between two trains in Chatsworth, California left 135 people injured and 25 dead.
Since the awarding of the fiscal year 2017 and 2018 CRISI grants, the FRA has held a webinar and multiple debriefs with over 80 stockholders discussing how to improve the funding application process to give applicants a better understanding of the criteria of the program. Grant applications will be due 60 days after the notice publication date in the Federal Register.
