Amtrak and Midwestern partners have been awarded up to USD 300 million to improve passenger rail service in Chicago with grants from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) competitive grant program.
“These grants will directly support Amtrak priorities, including the Chicago Hub Improvement Program (CHIP) – an Amtrak-led Midwest megaproject aimed at improving passenger rail service into Chicago – and advance our goal to double Amtrak ridership nationwide by 2040,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. “I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration, Congress, and our state, host and commuter partners for supporting the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which made these significant grants possible.”
“This week’s CRISI grants are part of a series of unprecedented rail investments under the Biden-Harris Administration to improve and expand America’s rail networks, including our passenger rail network. CRISI grants will benefit several Amtrak routes in the Midwest that riders rely on every day and potential future corridors that would contribute to further growth in the region, said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. Under the Biden-Harris Administration and through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, FRA has announced funding for 300 rail projects nationwide—the most significant investment in American rail in more than 50 years. We look forward to our continued work with Amtrak and State partners to deliver the world-class passenger rail our citizens deserve.”
“This is how you make trains genuinely better for people everywhere, relieving bottlenecks, increasing speeds, and bolstering safety,” said Rail Passengers Association President & CEO Jim Mathews. “Like last year’s grant announcements for the Midwest, today’s USSD 300 million is thanks to the historic IIJA which so many of us worked so hard to achieve. There’s still much more to do, but the IIJA was a significant downpayment on reversing generations of underinvestment in passenger rail, and we’ll work just as hard for the next funding round.”
Funding awarded specifically to Amtrak will support these projects:
- Wolverine and Blue Water Capacity Enhancement: Niles-Glenwood Road (up to USD 8,384,000)
This project – directly a part of CHIP – will advance final design for plans to increase capacity along a 19-mile, mostly single tracked segment of the Amtrak-owned Michigan Line. This congested area delays Amtrak Blue Water and Wolverine services connecting Michigan and Chicago, along with Norfolk Southern freight trains. The project will set the stage for future construction to improve service reliability, minimize traffic bottlenecks and reduce trip times for customers. Amtrak and the Michigan Department of Transportation will contribute the required local funding match.
- Grade Crossing Shunt Enhancement Safety Project (up to USD 58,800,000)
This project includes procurement and installation of Onboard Shunt Enhancement devices for 443 locomotives and 192 cab cars on the nationwide Amtrak-operated fleet to enhance grade crossing activation reliability. Amtrak and partner State Departments of Transportation, CN railroad, and railroad equipment supplier partners recently completed successful preliminary testing of this onboard innovative device that will improve grade crossing activations and reduce problems that have impacted train operations and fleet requirements for several years. This investment will improve service reliability and ensure continued safety protection. Amtrak, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and 13 other state transportation departments will contribute the required local funding match.
In addition, Amtrak supported several critical Midwestern grants which received funding and will benefit the Amtrak network and customers, including:
- Springfield Rail Improvements (up to USD 157,100,000)
City of Springfield, Ill.
- Muskego Yard Bypass Project (up to USD 72,800,000)
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
- The Future of Midwest Passenger Rail-Phase 1 (up to USD 1,840,000)
Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission
This is the second round of CRISI grant awards funded by the IIJA’s vision for expanded and improved passenger rail. Last week, Amtrak President Roger Harris joined Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Administrator Amit Bose, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, representatives from the Southern Rail Commission and other local leaders to break ground on the Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project, which is supported by a $178 million CRISI grant announced late last year in the first round of CRISI grants funded by the IIJA.
Many of the CRISI grants awarded nationally in these grant award cycles will also benefit host freight or commuter railroads over which Amtrak trains operate. The CRISI Program is an important funding source for vital projects, including rail safety and workforce development initiatives, not eligible under other competitive FRA grant programs.
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