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Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (Select Areas) - FY 2024

Agency: U.S. Department of Transportation
CFDA: 20.326
Office: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 12/16/2024 (Application)
Solicitation Date: 09/30/2024
   
Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Range: $1,057,596,637 (Max)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to improve American passenger rail assets by funding projects that reduce the state of good repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service, including privately operated intercity passenger rail service if an eligible applicant is involved. The funding agency will consider projects that address the key priorities of safety; climate change and sustainability; equity and Justice40; and workforce development, job quality, and wealth creation.

Eligible projects include:

  • A project to replace, rehabilitate, or repair infrastructure, equipment, or a facility used for providing intercity passenger rail service to bring such assets into a state of good repair
  • A project to improve intercity passenger rail service performance, including reduced trip times, increased train frequencies, higher operating speeds, improved reliability, expanded capacity, reduced congestion, electrification, and other improvements
  • A project to expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service
  • A group of related projects described above
  • The planning, environmental studies, and final design for a project or group of projects described above

Priority will be given to projects that improve the financial performance, reliability, service frequency, or address the state of good repair of an Amtrak route, as well as projects that are identified in, and consistent with, a corridor inventory prepared under the Corridor Identification and Development (ID) Program, known in eCivis Grants Network as US16742.

The funding agency is interested in supporting projects seeking funding for final design and/or construction that directly improves passenger service frequency, reliability, and financial performance.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to align project activities with the following funding tracks:

  • Track 1: project planning: track 1 consists of planning specific to capital projects; examples include:
    • Development of a purpose and need study for a proposed capital project
    • Completion of conceptual engineering and other design
    • Completion of an environmental resource inventory and potential environmental concerns analysis
  • Track 2: project development: track 2 consists of projects for eligible project development activities; examples include:
    • Preliminary engineering (PE) drawings and specifications
    • Design criteria, schematics, and/or track charts that support the development of PE
    • Work that can be funded in conjunction with developing PE, such as operations modeling, surveying, project work/management plans, preliminary cost estimates, and preliminary project schedules
  • Track 3: final design (FD)/construction: track 3 consists of projects for eligible FD and construction, FD funded under this track includes:
    • Completion of FD documentation
    • Resolving remaining uncertainties or risks associated with changes to the design and scope of the capital project
    • Addressing procurement processes and updating/completing the applicable project management documentation

Applicants may seek funding for one or more tracks in a single application. Refer to pages 21-23 of the NOFA file for additional eligible project track activities.

Optional webinars are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.

Eligibility is limited to projects not located on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), which for the purposes of this program means the main rail line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia; the branch rail lines connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York; and facilities and services used to operate and maintain these lines.

Last Updated: November 22, 2024

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

  • States, including the District of Columbia
  • Groups of states
  • Interstate compacts
  • Public agencies or publicly chartered authorities established by one or more states
  • Political subdivisions of a state
  • Amtrak, acting on its own behalf or under a cooperative agreement with one or more states
  • Federally recognized Indian tribes
  • Any combination of the entities described above

Eligibility is limited to projects not located on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), which for the purposes of this program means the main rail line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia; the branch rail lines connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York; and facilities and services used to operate and maintain these lines.

To submit a joint application, a lead applicant serving as the primary point of contact for the application and as the award recipient must be identified. The lead applicant must identify the joint applicant(s) and include a signed statement from an authorized representative of each joint applicant entity that affirms the entity joins the application.

For projects located on a shared corridor with commuter railroad passenger transportation or freight transportation, applicants must clearly demonstrate how the proposed project directly benefits intercity passenger rail transportation and that funding the proposed project would be a reasonable investment in intercity passenger rail transportation, independent and separate from consideration of the proposed project's benefits to other transportation purposes.

The funding agency strongly encourages early cooperation between applicants and any relevant infrastructure owners. Award recipients must have a written agreement with a railroad that owns rights-of-way to be used by the project before the funding agency will obligate funds under the award agreement.

Projects in which Amtrak is not the sole applicant will be prioritized.

Applicants are not limited in the number of projects for which they seek funding. Applicants submitting more than one application are requested to submit a priority ranking of their submitted applications that is consistent with each application package submitted.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) may be concurrently soliciting applications for transportation infrastructure projects for several financial assistance programs. Applicants may submit applications requesting funding for a particular project to one or more of these programs.

Ineligible entities include private-sector firms. Applications may reference entities that are not eligible applicants in an application as a partner in project funding or implementation; however, ineligible entities do not qualify as an applicant and cannot be a recipient.

Previous award recipients include:

  • Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) (AK)
  • California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) (CA)
  • National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) (IL)
  • Nevada Department of Transportation (NV)
  • Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (ME)

Refer to the Award file for additional information on previous award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Consortia
Native American Tribe
State Government
Application Notes:

Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 16, 2024.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. Supporting application materials that are unable to be submitted online, such as oversized engineering drawings, may be submitted as an original and two copies to the mailing address provided in the Contact section. In such instances, applicants are advised to use a means of conveyance other than the U.S. Postal Service, such as courier service, to assure timely receipt of materials before the application deadline.

Applications must include:

  • SF 424
  • SF 424A or SF 424C (as applicable)
  • SF 424B or SF 424D (as applicable)
  • FRA F 30
  • FRA F 251
  • SF LLL
  • Project narrative
  • Statement of work (SOW), estimated project schedule, project budget, and performance measures
  • Benefit/cost analysis (BCA)
  • Environmental compliance documentation (if applicable)
  • Draft agreement (if applicable)
  • Corridor identification documentation
  • Funding commitment supporting documentation
  • Additional documentation, as detailed in pages 38-44 of the NOFA file (as applicable)

Excluding the cover page, table of contents, and supporting documentation, the project narrative may not exceed 25 pages. If possible, applicants should submit supporting documents via website links rather than hard copies. Refer to pages 48-49 of the NOFA file for a list of file formats generally accepted by the funding agency.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration
  • SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

Optional webinars will be held for this program as follows:

October 10, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register

October 17, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register

October 24, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register

A recording of a webinar held for this program is available online at railroads.dot.gov/webinars.

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Project readiness
  • Technical merit
  • Project benefits

Refer to pages 49-54 and 61-64 of the NOFA file for additional information regarding the application review process.

Refer to the NOFA file and Application folder for additional application information.

Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Range: $1,057,596,637 (Max)
Match Notes:

Applicants must provide at least 20 percent of the total project costs via public-sector or private-sector funding. In-kind contributions, including the donation of services, materials, and equipment, may be credited as a project cost.

In general, matching contributions may not include:

  • Any federal financial assistance or any nonfederal funds funds already expended or otherwise encumbered
  • Pre-award costs, or costs for activities not approved in writing by the funding agency
Funding Notes:

Up to $1,057,596,637 is available to support grants or cooperative agreements through this program. There are no predetermined minimum or maximum award amounts, and the funding agency expects to make multiple awards.

Funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis.

For applicants that are seeking additional funding for a project that has already received federal financial assistance, costs associated with the scope of work for the existing federal award are not eligible.

Activities initiated prior to award execution, or without the funding agency's written approval, may not be supported.

Funds will not support:

  • Costs that are included in or used to meet cost sharing or matching requirements of any other federally financed award or program
  • Pre-award costs, unless approved in writing by the funding agency

For FY 2022, a total of $4.5 billion was distributed via ten awards through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Program Staff
FRA-NOFO-Support@dot.gov

Sergio Coronado
(617) 571-1213
Sergio.Coronado@dot.gov

Caitlyn Mitchell
(202) 579-3867
Caitlyn.Mitchell@dot.gov

Marc Dixon
(202) 493-0614
Marc.Dixon@dot.gov

Mailing Address
Mr. Sergio Coronado
Office of Rail Program Development
Federal Railroad Administration
220 Binney Street
Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02142

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to the program contacts provided.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. Supporting application materials that are unable to be submitted online, such as oversized engineering drawings, may be submitted to the mailing address provided.

Files:
Award File: US17852_Award_FY2024.pdf (24.3 Mb)
NOFA File: US17852_NOFA_FY2024.pdf (484.8 Kb)
Application File: US17852_Application_FY2024.zip (221.3 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17852_Webinar_FY2024.pdf (122.6 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17852_WebinarPresentation_FY2024.pdf (31.1 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17852_WebinarPresentation2_FY2024.pdf (12.6 Mb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17852_WebinarPresentation3_FY2024.pdf (14.0 Mb)
Federal Forms:
SPOC (67.7 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Application folder contains required forms for submission. The Webinar file contains information regarding optional webinars scheduled for this program. The WebinarPresentation1, WebinarPresentation2, and WebinarPresentation3 files contain slides from webinars held for this program. The Award file contains information on previous award recipients. The SPOC file contains information on the state Single Point of Contact program.

November 22, 2024
Slides from additional webinars held for this program have been released and attached as the WebinarPresentation2 and WebinarPresentation3 files.

October 21, 2024
A recording of the webinar for this program has been released, and a link to the presentation is available in the Application section. In addition, slides from the webinar held for this program have been released and attached as the WebinarPresentation file.

October 2, 2024
Information regarding the scheduling of optional webinars for this program has been released and attached as the Webinar file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

Project: Pennsylvanian Rail Modernization: Expanding Amtrak Passenger Rail Service on the Keystone West Corridor (16.9 Mb)
Applicant: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to improve American passenger rail assets to expand or establish new intercity passenger rail service, including privately operated intercity passenger rail service if an eligible applicant is involved; reduce the state of good repair backlog; improve performance; and enhance rail safety. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation requested and received $143,629,028 to complete final design and construction of the expansion of state-supported Amtrak service and improvement of its interactions with freight operations for traffic moving between Chicago and metropolitan New York. Project activities include the construction of additional main tracks, new crossovers, signals, a helper locomotive staging track, and a freight bypass track. Project goals include improving service reliability, increasing flexibility for train operations, and increasing the frequency of the Pennsylvanian train rail service from one daily round trip to two. The total estimated cost of the project is $179,536,285.

 
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Grant Categories
Community Development
Economic Development
Transportation