DOT Announces $2.3 Billion Rail Investment Covering 105 Projects in 45 States and D.C.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced in Washington on October 19 that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is investing $2.3 billion through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program into 105 freight and passenger rail projects in 45 states and the District of Columbia, improving over 2,000 miles of track across America. The department said the CRISI program received a record number of eligible applications this cycle.
Selected projects will also receive over $1.9 billion in non-Federal funding from state, local, and private partners. The largest single award highlighted is $218 million for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Hiawatha West project, which will extend the existing Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawatha passenger rail service to Waukesha, Jefferson, and Dane counties, rehabilitate and expand the capacity of track, bridges, and crossings, and construct new intercity passenger rail stations.
Other awards include $43.5 million for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway to rehabilitate eight of the 11 spans of the Toledo Swing Bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio, enabling 286,000-pound railcar capacity; $37 million for the Maine Department of Transportation to rehabilitate approximately 90 miles of railroad line in Northern Maine; $33.6 million for the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Company for track rehabilitation between Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Monett, Missouri; $30 million for the Texas City Terminal Railway Company to realign the Port of Texas vehicle entrance gate and expand its yard; and $20 million for the Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway Company to install approximately 30 miles of continuous welded rail, rehabilitate bridges, and modernize crossing signals in Montgomery and Stanly counties, North Carolina.
"Under President Trump, USDOT is investing in rail projects that will unleash local economies and deliver real safety upgrades," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, adding that the package is part of the department's efforts to rekindle a Golden Age of Rail in America. FRA Administrator David Fink said the funds will provide shortline railroads across the country with the resources they need to make long overdue improvements to their day-to-day operations, reducing congestion and improving operations.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 资料照片：德克萨斯州 Shallowater 附近一列 BNSF 铁路货运列车（2009年摄）。Leaflet 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。File photo: a BNSF freight train near Shallowater, Texas (2009). By Leaflet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
