WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation is directing $5.3 billion to 41 rail projects across 23 states, including more than $2 billion for new Amtrak trains and billions more for grade-crossing and infrastructure work, as the Trump administration redirects roughly $2 billion previously committed to California’s high-speed rail project.
The Federal Railroad Administration awards will close more than 30 grade crossings and upgrade more than 1,000 others, according to DOT. The package also provides $2.05 billion for Amtrak to acquire 43 U.S.-made trainsets and $140 million to overhaul 41 locomotives operating on Midwest and Pacific routes.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said roughly $2 billion in the package comes from funding the administration recovered after canceling federal support for California’s high-speed rail project.
The department characterized that decision as a shift toward projects with more immediate safety and infrastructure benefits. California’s project has faced escalating cost estimates, which DOT said have reached as high as $231 billion.
“Boondoggles are OUT and safety is IN,” Duffy said, arguing the redirected funding would address dangerous crossings and aging passenger-rail equipment.
Grade crossings are the second-leading cause of rail-related deaths in the U.S., according to DOT, with more than 2,000 incidents and 200 fatalities occurring annually.
The FRA prioritized what it considers high-risk crossings, defined as those with at least three documented incidents or at least two fatal incidents during the previous five years.
Among the largest individual awards, the Florida Department of Transportation will receive $356 million for state-of-good-repair improvements at as many as 910 highway-rail crossings.
North Carolina’s transportation department will receive $299 million to eliminate nine grade crossings, install sections of double track and undertake measures aimed at preventing trespassing.
Texas will receive substantial funding for grade separation projects, including $189 million for the state transportation department to eliminate nine crossings in Fort Worth, Dallas and Terrell. Hays County will receive another $39 million to construct a grade-separated bridge.
The city of Fairfield, Ohio, was awarded $40 million to close two at-grade crossings and construct a bridge over part of the CSX Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision.
Smaller projects include $2.5 million for New Orleans to repair roughly 70-year-old platforms and canopies at its Union Passenger Terminal and $1.1 million for Crete, Nebraska, to study eight crossings and identify potential infrastructure improvements.
The Amtrak investment will replace equipment that DOT said is 40 to 50 years old. The department said the 43 new trainsets will increase available seating while replacing aging rolling stock.
Routes slated to receive the equipment include the Pennsylvanian and Keystone services, along with the Adirondack, Blue Water, Carolinian, Cascades, Downeaster, Empire, Ethan Allen, Hartford Line, Hiawatha, Illini/Saluki, Illinois Zephyr, Lincoln, Pere Marquette, Piedmont, River Runner and Wolverine routes. Services linking Washington with Newport News, Norfolk and Roanoke are also included.
FRA Administrator David Fink said the agency worked with Amtrak over two years to determine how the funding should be distributed, with an emphasis on improving passenger-train performance without delaying freight operations.
The investments come as the Trump administration pursues a restructuring of Amtrak’s management into three entities, including one focused on fleet management, according to DOT.
Funding is being provided through the National Railroad Partnership Program, which supports passenger-rail safety, grade-crossing improvements, state-of-good-repair projects and other performance upgrades.
Demand substantially exceeded available funding. FRA received 103 eligible applications from 78 applicants seeking a combined $11.66 billion before selecting the 41 projects receiving awards.
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