The federal government is committing $2.4 billion to 122 rail projects across the country

OMAHA, Neb. — The federal government is providing $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.

The grants have been announced On Tuesday, the Federal Railroad Administration will go to projects in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Most of the money will go to modernize tracks 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.

Most of the money comes from Infrastructure Act of 2021 which was championed by President Joe Biden. Last year, the administration gave away $1.4 billion for these rail grants.

“Each project advances 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 to solve safety problems of railway transport which have become common since the days of southern Norfolk the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023 and released a cocktail of dangerous chemicals that caught fire. Regulators have called on railroads to improve safety, and the industry has acted a number of initiatives independently But the changes lawmakers proposed after the catastrophic derailment have stalled in Congress and little progress was 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.

In Illinois, nearly $160 million will go toward consolidating Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern tracks through Springfield and help clear the way for faster rail service between Chicago and St. Louis.

One grant of up to $100 million will help strengthen the tracks Amtrak uses to protect against climate change threats and improve track reliability in southern California’s Orange County.

Several grants, including one worth more than $48 million, will go toward the development of hydrogen-powered locomotives that could one day help the rail industry dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Other grants include $67 million to expand an intermodal rail station in Michigan, where shipping containers move between trains and trucks. Nearly $73 million will go toward improvements at the Muskego train station in Milwaukee.

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.

“Congress and the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) can be confident that short lines will put these public dollars to good use, providing new and efficient ways to serve customers, connecting small towns and rural America to U.S. and international markets,” Baker said.