Dive Brief:
- The Federal Railroad Administration extended the application deadline for a $5 billion grant opportunity for intercity passenger rail projects outside the Northeast Corridor, with applications now due Feb. 6, 2026. A separate program provides funding for the NEC.
- The program, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides funding for new intercity passenger rail service, improvements to existing service or projects to repair equipment and infrastructure.
- Previous awards have gone to projects to increase capacity at Chicago Union Station; create a new passenger rail route between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia; and help build the Brightline West high-speed rail system between Las Vegas and Southern California.
Dive Insight:
To comply with policy changes under the Trump administration, the fiscal year 2024 funding opportunity issued in September 2024 was rescinded and reissued Sept. 22, 2025. The reissue includes $2.4 billion in funding previously awarded to the California high-speed rail project between San Francisco and Los Angeles, which the FRA canceled in July.
The revised grant opportunity excludes diversity, equity and inclusion requirements, emphasizes grade-crossing safety projects and supports projects providing train station amenities for mothers and children.
“Instead of wasting dollars on [California] Governor Newsom’s high-speed rail boondogle, these targeted investments will improve the lives of rail passengers, local drivers, and pedestrians,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
States and cities are looking into potentially eligible projects, including establishing new passenger rail corridors connecting Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Boston and Albany, New York; and Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Eligible recipients include states, a group of states or interstate compacts; Washington, D.C.; state-created public agencies; and Amtrak. More information is available from an Oct. 16, 2025, FRA webinar.
