The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) announced Tuesday, Oct. 29, that it has invested more than $19.5 million in new rail grant funding in Vermont. Nationally, more than $2.4 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding is being invested in 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, according to the news release.
Administered through FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program, the grants focus on rural communities. CRISI is the only federal grant program prioritizing smaller, short line railroads vital to the American economy and regional supply chains.
This announcement is part of a series of investments the Biden-Harris Administration has made in nearly 300 rail projects and dozens of emerging passenger rail corridors across the country through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded FRA grant programs.
It marks the most significant investment in American rail in more than 50 years.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re funding rail infrastructure projects that create jobs and expand workforce development, reduce costs for consumers, and directly benefit communities across the country. Each project advances a future where our supply chains are stronger, passenger rail more accessible, and freight movement safer and more efficient.”
New England Central Railroad, Inc. — which incorporates 228 miles of the Vermont Railway (with stops in Burlington, Montpelier, White River Junction and Bellows Falls) — was granted up to $19,524,497 for the New England Bi-State Shortline Upgrade Project. The project includes upgrading track, replacing bridge components, improving a locomotive service facility, resurfacing 12 grade crossings, removing six grade crossings, improving turnouts, and reconfiguring a yard on track. The project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing safety as the project will increase weight capacity and speed along segments of the rail corridor and address yard infrastructure and substandard clearances, low capacity and high-defect-rate rail, and improve operations which will benefit rail-adjacent communities.