45 votes

Joe Biden- Kamala Harris administration announces $2.4 billion in new US railroad projects to improve safety and grow the passenger and freight networks

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  1. scroll_lock
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    Comment box Scope: summary Tone: neutral Opinion: none Sarcasm/humor: none In 2021, the 117th Congress legislated and president Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act...
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    In 2021, the 117th Congress legislated and president Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), which represents "the most significant investment in American rail in more than 50 years." This funding is being doled out to states and railroads, including passenger railroads, to significantly improve infrastructure.

    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced more than $2.4 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for 122 rail improvement projects in 41 states and Washington, D.C. These projects will make rail safer, more reliable, and more resilient, getting goods and people where they need to be quickly with fewer disruptions, lower shipping costs and less pollution.

    Selected CRISI projects this round include:

    • In Illinois, more than $157 million will be invested in the Springfield Rail Improvements Project Final Usable Segment: Phase VIb: North Grand Ave. and IIIc: Multimodal Transportation Center Project, which will consolidate the Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern corridors into one multitrack corridor through the city and advance the efforts to provide a higher speed intercity passenger rail connection between St. Louis and Chicago. In addition to track improvements and new grade crossing separations, the project will also construct a Multimodal Transportation Center to better connect public transportation options such as passenger rail, local bus service, and intercity bus service.
    • In North Carolina, more than $105.5 million will be invested in the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) Carolinian and Piedmont Passenger and Freight Improvements Project, to improve the capacity of the NCRR’s NC-Line to meet the growing demands of both freight and passenger rail traffic. Upgrades would add over five miles of sidings, reconstruct up to 69 miles of track, eliminate one grade crossing, and improve track geometry. The project will increase on-time performance for existing Amtrak routes, allow for additional passenger trains along the growing corridor, and meet the needs of a growing manufacturing sector.
    • In partnership with Amtrak, more than $14 million will help implement a 36-month Mechanical Craft Workforce Development Apprenticeship Training Program to build a skilled mechanical craft workforce for Amtrak to maintain its fleet of equipment. The project will improve safety and service performance by providing Amtrak job opportunities and career paths in various mechanical crafts that are essential to maintaining service and improving efficiency. The apprenticeship program is a collaboration between Amtrak and several labor unions, with programs being offered in Beech Grove, Indiana; Wilmington, Delaware; Washington, DC; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California.
    • In Georgia, more than $26.5 million will be invested in Colonel's Island Rail Improvements Project. The project, in partnership with the Georgia Ports Authority, will improve the Myd Harris Yard and construct a new South Side Rail Yard at the Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick, GA, creating new opportunities to move automotive shipments by rail instead of truck. Specifically, for the South Side Rail Yard, the project will construct four new yard tracks, estimated at approximately 23,735 feet of track, and construct south side auto storage area and a perimeter road, as well as grade separate an existing crossing. Additionally, the project will lengthen and reconfigure tracks at the existing Myd Harris Yard to improve operational efficiency and bring rail switching activities inside the terminal and away from the adjacent neighborhood.
    • In Arizona, more than $21.6 million will be invested in the Eastern Arizona Rail Safety, Efficiency, and Resiliency Project, which rehabilitates approximately 34 miles of track, replaces three aging timber bridges, installs two emergency crossings, cuts brush within rights-of-way, and retrofits two tank cars for firefighting. The project will address infrastructure vulnerabilities in a location with a history of wildfires.
    • In Michigan, more than $67 million will be invested in Detroit RECHARGED - Realizing Environmental Changes Happening Around Railroads Generating Equitable Development, which will improve and expand the Livernois Intermodal Facility by installing approximately 17,200 feet of new track and upgrading paving as well replacing diesel gantry cranes with new hybrid and fully electric gantry cranes in Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan. The project will benefit local business owners and surrounding residents by improving service performance, enhancing multimodal connections, and reducing negative environmental impacts.

    There are many more rail projects being funded here. You can see a full list of projects from the Federal Railroad Administration (PDF link). About $1 billion of this funding is for rural communities: railroads aren't just a "big city thing."

    7 votes
  2. [2]
    goryramsy
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    Seems from more specific funding ledgers that many of the small (<500k) grants are aimed at improving safety, namely for passengers. Hopefully this will further improve the impressive safety...

    Seems from more specific funding ledgers that many of the small (<500k) grants are aimed at improving safety, namely for passengers. Hopefully this will further improve the impressive safety record of commuter rail safety.

    3 votes
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      Comment box Scope: summary Tone: neutral Opinion: none Sarcasm/humor: none Yes, lots of the grants improve passenger safety directly or indirectly. Even the grants for freight railroads will often...
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      Yes, lots of the grants improve passenger safety directly or indirectly. Even the grants for freight railroads will often help passengers, since Amtrak leases trackage rights on many such lines.

      Positive train control is one of the expensive upgrades that some of these grants fund. PTC is a modern signaling system which gives operators a better sense of where trains actually are. This helps prevent collisions of multiple trains and theoretically allows for higher operating speeds and lower headways, since operators have better information and don't need to pad schedules so much.

      One of the best ways to make the rails safer is to grade-separate road crossings. This is very expensive, which is why it's not the default. But cars driving onto railroads leads to a lot of derailments. For this reason, the FRA limits railroads to 79 mph near at-grade crossings, even if the track is otherwise suitable for faster speeds. There is a bit of grade separation in the legislation, including in the large grant in Illinois. This will help improve speeds/travel times while also improving safety.

      There are a few hundred million dollars going to fencing projects in order to limit access to tracks except for stations. This will help keep people from the tracks as well as debris, which can also cause derailments.

      In general, maintenance of railways reduces risk of derailment, fire, and other problems. So the grants really are doing a lot here.

      3 votes