States for Passenger Rail Coalition

Today, SPRC and AASHTO sent this letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees advocating for funding that is equitably distributed to states to engage in passenger rail planning activities. This funding is critical to allow states to build capacity and deliver projects across multiple states, which will help advance corridors and achieve a national passenger rail network.

Blizzard of personnel news at U.S. Department of Transportation today, LinkedIn peeps: ?? The US Senate yesterday confirmed Steve Bradbury as S-2, Deputy Secretary at USDOT, giving Secretary Sean Duffy his first Senate-confirmed political appointee. I noticed this with a congratulatory post from the American Public Transportation Association (https://lnkd.in/dZHfq_cD), while Senate Commerce ranking member Senator Maria Cantwell issued a statement supporting her 47 fellow D's in voting against Mr. Bradbury (https://lnkd.in/dceV5wBD). ?? The Administration announced yesterday the nomination of Sean McMaster as Federal Highway Administration Administrator (see this from FreightWaves https://lnkd.in/dQaZ5RBz). Mr. McMaster served in Secretary Elaine Chao's DOT as Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs and before that he was on staff at House T&I. Since leaving USDOT, Mr. McMaster has worked at HNTB and Boeing. ?? That same FreightWaves article mentioned that Seval Oz is being nominated to a new Assistant Secretary position that may focus on autonomous vehicles. Ms. Oz is a Board Member with MicroVision?, CEO and founder of Aurima Inc., an AV sensor company, and affiliated with a number of other firms. She also holds 10 patents in vehicle tech software (10 more than I have). ?? Finally, the Administration has designated Adrienne Camire as Acting Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the first Acting Administrator designation by my count thus far in the USDOT (https://lnkd.in/dzaRmg-y). Ms. Camire was FHWA Chief Counsel in the Chao USDOT. Best wishes to all the new folks coming into the Department! #confirmation #nominations #transportation #trucking #highways

"The Rail Passengers Association joined with a dozen other state and regional rail passenger organizations to defend the Federal Railroad Administration from another round of firings that would further delay work on several rail projects of national significance, threatening the 2025 construction season at a time of increased economic fragility in the U.S." https://lnkd.in/g-bwm9hc The board of All Aboard Washington has approved signing on to this letter.

??Today, FRA announced more than $1.1 billion in new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants to eliminate, improve or study over 1,000 highway-rail crossings nationwide, making crossings safer and helping to reduce train-vehicle collisions and blocked railroad crossings in 41 states. The 123 projects receiving Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program funding marks the largest single investment in grade crossing safety in FRA’s history. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, FRA has now announced more than 445 rail projects nationwide with infrastructure law funding, including those that will modernize and expand America’s rail network, deliver the first high-speed rail systems in the country, replace aging infrastructure on America’s busiest rail corridor in the Northeast, make freight rail safer, and eliminate or improve well over 1,000 highway-rail crossings. Read the full release here: https://lnkd.in/gZj7wuiy

With this announcement today of over $1.1 billion in grant awards to increase safety, strengthen communities, and grow the economy, 2025 is off to a good start at the Federal Railroad Administration! As Secretary Buttigieg says, this is a "Big Deal!" FRA continues to deliver the Biden-Harris Administration's transportation agenda. https://lnkd.in/erdzQRr9

There are 320 rail projects across the country rolling forward, thanks to the infrastructure law—modernizing transportation, boosting the economy, and connecting communities like never before.

?? Today, FRA announced another historic investment in passenger rail through the Bipartisan Infrastructure with nearly $1.5 billion in Fed-State NEC grants for 19 projects along the Northeast Corridor. ? Projects announced will replace aging catenary structures susceptible to failures that contribute to travel delays, improve several signal systems necessary to increase capacity, operating speeds, and safety, and support planning activities to expand Washington Union Station in the Nation’s capital, among other projects, to further reduce the state-of-good-repair backlog on the corridor. ? Today’s announcement builds on more than $16.4 billion in Fed-State NEC grants announced by FRA in 2023 for projects along America’s busiest rail corridor. Combined with those projects to upgrade NEC tunnels, bridges, and tracks, the improvements announced today will help minimize disruptions and delays, allow for increased speeds and provide more reliable service for the hundreds of thousands of riders who use the NEC every day. https://lnkd.in/gxdY6HCF

We're thrilled to announce that the Federal Railroad Administration awarded Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority $20 million through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program to secure our corridor through our Right-of-Way Safety Improvement Program. This award will be matched with $5 million from the California State Transportation Agency’s Strategic Rail Assistance (SRA) Program. These combined funds will strengthen rail safety along the Capitol Corridor route at high-priority locations in Solano, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties. ?? ?? ?? ? Learn more about the award and the Right-of-Way Safety Improvement Program here: https://lnkd.in/gjhDKJXX

This is a big step forward to bring Front Range Passenger Rail to Colorado communities. We're thankful for our partnerships with Governor Jared Polis, Colorado Department of Transportation and RTD and can't wait to continue building on this momentum. #FrontRangePassengerRail #Colorado #ColoradoCommunities #Transportation https://lnkd.in/d-nKWe_f

Huge day for US rail! FRA announced funding for 122 rail improvement projects in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Thanks Bipartisan Infrastructure Law!