Minnesota Railroads Participate in $2.4 Billion in Federal Transportation Improvement Grants – Twin Cities

The federal government is awarding $2.4 billion in rail grants to help pay for 122 projects across the country, with more than half of the money going to small railroads, including those in Minnesota.

The grants, announced Tuesday by the Federal Railroad Administration, will go to projects in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Most of the money will go to modernize roads and bridges. But some of the grants will be used to strengthen training and research into environmentally-friendly alternatives to diesel, which railroads have long relied on. Some small railroads will also get help upgrading to more efficient locomotives.

Much of the money comes from the 2021 infrastructure bill championed by President Joe Biden. Last year, the administration allocated $1.4 billion for these rail grants.

“Each project contributes to a future where our supply chains are stronger, passenger rail is more accessible, and freight is safer and more efficient,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

Some of the grants will also help address rail safety concerns that became widespread after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023 and spilled a cocktail of dangerous chemicals that caught fire. Regulators have called on railroads to improve safety, and the industry has taken a number of initiatives on its own. But larger changes lawmakers have proposed since the disaster have stalled in Congress, and little progress has been made in the current election year.

The largest single project is a $215 million grant to help pay for the replacement of the CSX-owned Hudson River Bridge between Albany and Rensselaer, N.Y., which Amtrak relies heavily on. The state is paying the other 60 percent of the $634.8 million project, which will allow two trains and pedestrians to cross the river at the same time. Currently, about 12 Amtrak trains and several freight trains pass over the bridge, which was built in 1901.

But most of the money — nearly $1.3 billion — will go to 81 projects on light rail across the country. Chuck Baker, president of the trade group American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, said the grants will go a long way toward helping these smaller railroads.

In Minnesota, Minnesota Commercial Railway will receive up to $15.86 million for a locomotive emissions reduction project.

Located in St. Paul’s Midway, the railroad serves a variety of Twin Cities customers.

Another $37.26 million will go toward Progressive Rail Inc.’s capacity, safety and sustainability improvements.

Located in Lakeville, Progressive Rail serves a variety of metro south customers.

In Wisconsin, nearly $73 million will go toward improvements at the Muskego train station in Milwaukee.