The U. S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration will give more than $22 million in grants to three intercity rail projects spanning eight states.
The funding, made available through the FRA’s Restoration and Enhancement grants, is specifically set aside to initiate, resort or enhance intercity passenger rail services nationwide.
“This $22 million is another example of the President’s continued investment in infrastructure to help connect communities as our economy recovers,” said U. S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
Part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act authorized for 2018-2020, the grants were awarded to Connecticut Department of Transportation, Southern Rail Commission and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Connecticut will receive more than $4 million to build the CTrail-Hartford Line Rail Enhancement between New Haven, Conn., and Springfield, Mass. The project will provide two additional weekday trains between the two cities, as well as added a customer service representative in Hartford Union Station. The additions to the well-served existing corridor will provide additional departures from each city, as well as added connections with other trains.
The Southern Rail Commission will receive $5,450,000 in funding to restore Intercity Passenger Rail Service along America’s Gulf Coast from New Orleans, La., to Mobile, Ala. The project would restore intercity rail service along the Gulf Coast to underserved regions, with the expectation that it will foster economic development, enhance connectivity and provide other non-transportation benefits to the region, as well as fill a geographic gap in Amtrak’s National Network. The two daily round trips will make six station stops in New Orleans; Bay St. Louis, Miss.; Gulfport, Miss.; Biloxi, Miss.; Pascagoula, Miss.; and Mobile.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will receive more than $12 million for the Twin Cities-Milwaukee-Chicago Intercity Passenger Rail Service Project from Chicago, Ill., to Saint Paul, Minn. The project will add a second daily roundtrip passenger train service between Union Depot in Saint Paul and Union Station in Chicago. The added train would provide travelers with more reliable service at more convenient times. The added line would make stops at St. Paul, Red Wing, and Winona, Minn.; La Crosse, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells, Portage, Columbus, Milwaukee, and Sturtevant, Wis.; and Glenview and Chicago, Ill.