Choo Choo! I'm really hoping we're chugging along towards a new golden age of rail in the US. Brightline seems like they might be looking to give Amtrak some competition which will hopefully help.
Choo Choo!
I'm really hoping we're chugging along towards a new golden age of rail in the US. Brightline seems like they might be looking to give Amtrak some competition which will hopefully help.
Great to see. You can read the original press release from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) section of the DOT website. A full list of project summaries is here (PDF version). Most of the...
Exemplary
Great to see. You can read the original press release from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) section of the DOT website. A full list of project summaries is here (PDF version). Most of the projects here are getting a 20–75% match from non-federal sources, so states, for-profit railroads whose lines are being upgraded, and other stakeholders are taking this seriously. It goes to show how much more likely rail projects are to be completed with initiative from the federal government!
Eligible Projects: Projects eligible for funding under this grant program include, but are not limited to:
Deployment of railroad safety technology;
Capital projects, as defined in section 49 U.S.C. § 24401(2) for intercity passenger rail service, except that a project under this NOFO is not required to be in a state rail plan;
reduce congestion and facilitate ridership growth along heavily traveled rail corridors, and/or
improve short-line or regional railroad infrastructure;
Highway-rail grade crossing improvement projects;
Rail line relocation and improvement projects;
Regional rail and corridor service development plans and environmental analyses;
Any project necessary to enhance multimodal connections or facilitate service integration between rail service and other modes;
The development and implementation of a safety program or institute;
The development and implementation of measures to prevent trespassing;
Any research that the Secretary considers necessary to advance any particular aspect of rail related capital, operations, or safety improvements;
Workforce development and training activities, coordinated to the extent practicable with the existing local training programs supported by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Education;
Research, development, and testing to advance and facilitate innovative rail projects;
Preparation of emergency plans for communities where hazardous materials are transported by rail;
Rehabilitating, remanufacturing, procuring or overhauling locomotives for emissions reduction; and
Deployment of Magnetic Levitation Transportation Projects.
So CRISI is about more than just safety. It's effectively a catch-all for improvements to existing rail infrastructure and capital projects for new lines/amenities, both on account of safety and also because of reliability. (One could truthfully and usefully make the argument that improving rail speed, service, and reliability and therefore inducing a modal shift away from automobiles, is itself a safety improvement.)
I would like to see more investment in grade-separated crossings, both for safety purposes and to accommodate higher speeds. High-speed rail (HSR) requires fully grade-separated infrastructure. However, this is not as critical for all lines, especially slower freight lines that don't receive passenger traffic.
Choo Choo!
I'm really hoping we're chugging along towards a new golden age of rail in the US. Brightline seems like they might be looking to give Amtrak some competition which will hopefully help.
Great to see. You can read the original press release from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) section of the DOT website. A full list of project summaries is here (PDF version). Most of the projects here are getting a 20–75% match from non-federal sources, so states, for-profit railroads whose lines are being upgraded, and other stakeholders are taking this seriously. It goes to show how much more likely rail projects are to be completed with initiative from the federal government!
More information about the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety (CRISI) Program is also available:
So CRISI is about more than just safety. It's effectively a catch-all for improvements to existing rail infrastructure and capital projects for new lines/amenities, both on account of safety and also because of reliability. (One could truthfully and usefully make the argument that improving rail speed, service, and reliability and therefore inducing a modal shift away from automobiles, is itself a safety improvement.)
I would like to see more investment in grade-separated crossings, both for safety purposes and to accommodate higher speeds. High-speed rail (HSR) requires fully grade-separated infrastructure. However, this is not as critical for all lines, especially slower freight lines that don't receive passenger traffic.