FRA
FRA Receives 77 Applications for High-Speed Passenger Rail Funding Totaling $8.5 Billion
WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has received 77 applications from 25 states for the most recent round of High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant funding. Application requests total more than $8.5 billion and will be considered for funding from more than $2.3 billion appropriated in FY 2010. This is in addition to the $8 billion appropriated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as a down payment for the HSIPR program. “The response to our call to transform America’s transportation landscape has been tremendous and shows the country is
Railroad Industry Collaboration Enters New Phase in Working to Prevent Employee Switching Fatalities
WASHINGTON –Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo praised the work of the Switching Operations Fatality Analysis (SOFA) Working Group and issued a call to action for the rail industry to take steps to help prevent railroad employee deaths. This comes in response to events of the past five years during which 55 train and engine service employees have died while engaged in rail yard switching operations. SOFA is a decade-old voluntary, non-regulatory workplace safety partnership. “The risks to employees engaged in switching operations are real and ever-present, and injuries and deaths resulting from such activities are seldom random or simply unfortunate
Federal Railroad Administration Announces High-Speed Rail Grants
WASHINGTON — Colorado has received $400,000 and Vermont $500,000 under the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program grant program funded from fiscal year 2009 appropriations. Colorado will use its funds to develop a state rail plan, a prerequisite for receiving additional HSIPR intercity passenger rail funding. Vermont will conduct a study of a proposed rerouting of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen service between Rutland, VT, and Albany, N.Y., which would result in additional cities receiving rail service. FRA has now released more than $183 million for the HSIPR program, the significant portion of which comes from the Obama
U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces up to $25 Million for High-Speed Passenger Rail Research
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHoodsaid the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is soliciting research proposals to foster rapid development of high-speed and intercity passenger rail service technologies in the United States. A pool of $25 million is available for basic and applied technology research, development and demonstration projects to advance the state of the art in track and structures, train control systems, operating practices and rolling stock. FRA is seeking projects focused on accelerating development of technologies that ensure safe, efficient and strategic deployment of integrated passenger rail systems. The solicitation is open to all sources. “President Obama’s bold
U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $727,000 for New York High-Speed Rail
NEW YORK — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $727,000 for the State of New York to continue work on its high-speed rail program with the rehabilitation of the Buffalo-Depew railroad station. The Department of Transportation has provided New York $1.7 million of the $151 million awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for high-speed rail. “President Obama’s bold vision for high-speed rail is a game-changer for transportation in New York and the United States,” LaHood said. “This undertaking is not only creating good jobs and reinvigorating our manufacturing base, it’s also going to reduce our dependence on
U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood, Governor Doyle Sign Agreement for $46.5 Million for Wisconsin High-Speed Rail
WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle have signed an agreement providing $46.5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for work to continue on the state’s aggressive high-speed rail program. The funding is the latest installment from the $822 million that President Obama announced for Wisconsin high-speed rail from the Recovery Act in January. Wisconsin previously received a $5.7 million Recovery Act grant that brings their high-speed rail total to $52.2 million. Nationally, an unprecedented $8 billion down payment for the creation of a national network of interconnected high-speed rail corridors was included