The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently launched the Corridor Identification and Development (ID) Program and published a notice in Friday’s Federal Register.
“The Corridor ID Program will help expand intercity passenger rail service beyond the Northeast Corridor,” FRA Administrator Amit Bose said. “This is just one of many ways the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is bringing about the next great rail revolution.”
The program will establish a pipeline of projects ready for funding and direct federal investments and technical assistance toward new or improved intercity passenger rail services. This will allow projects to be implemented faster and with greater coordination by giving public companies a formal method to partner with FRA to develop proposals.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $1.8 billion for the program. It directed the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to establish the program within 180 days. The FRA must submit an annual report to Congress, beginning within a year, on the program and its project pipeline.
The FRA will be soliciting formal proposals for the program by the end of the year. It will select corridors for participation in the program based on readiness to commence development and statutory criteria.
The agency will work with the entity that submitted each proposal, the relevant states, and, as appropriate, Amtrak to prepare or update a service development plan