WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration today issued a $5 billion-plus Notice of Funding Opportunity for the National Railroad Partnership Program, which aims to enhance safety on intercity passenger routes.
The program now includes $2.4 billion that the FRA clawed back from the California High-Speed Rail Project.
“The funding will help advance FRA’s top priority of making railroads safer,” FRA Acting Administrator Drew Feeley said in a statement. “These funds will significantly enhance and strengthen grade crossing safety, along with other eligible uses related to passenger rail capacity and reliability.”
The FRA is reissuing the NOFO for fiscal year 2024 and adding funding for the fiscal 2025 National Railroad Partnership Program. The FY 2024 NOFO was published last September as the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program.
The reissued NOFO includes several important changes, including a repeal of diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements; an emphasis on grade-crossing safety projects; and supporting projects that align with the administration’s focus on the American family, such as adding mothers’ rooms, expanding waiting areas, adding new family restrooms; and creating children’s play areas at passenger stations.
More information about the National Railroad Partnership Program can be found on FRA’s website.
