Current highlights of FRA’s implementation plan:
Capital Assistance for High-Speed Rail Corridor and Intercity Passenger Rail Service
On or before April 18, 2009 (within 60 days of enactment), FRA must submit a strategic plan to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees describing how the FRA will use the $8,000,000,000 in Recovery Act funding to improve and deploy high speed passenger rail systems.
The strategic plan will likely include, among other things, a description of:
- The agency’s vision for developing high speed rail services
- The proposed schedule for providing grant funds under ARRA
- The criteria that will be used to select projects
- The reporting and evaluation process that will be used to measure and communicate program effectiveness
- The relationship of the ARRA grant programs to the recently enacted Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA)
On or before June 17, 2009 (within 120 days of enactment), FRA must issue interim guidance to applicants covering grant terms, conditions and procedures until final regulations are issued.
This interim guidance will provide separate instructions for the high-speed rail corridor program, capital assistance for intercity rail service grants, and congestion grants.
Amtrak
On or before March 19, 2009 (within 30 days of enactment), FRA must award $1,300,000,000 in Recovery Act funds to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for capital grants in support of intercity railroad passenger services.
$450,000,000 of the funds are to be used for security improvements, including life safety improvements.
Priority uses for the non-security funding include projects for the repair, rehabilitation, or upgrade of railroad assets or infrastructure, and for capital projects that expand passenger rail capacity, including the rehabilitation of rolling stock.
Funds will be awarded to Amtrak through execution of a formal grant agreement between the FRA and Amtrak. The grant agreement will incorporate Recovery Act requirements, including those related to jobs creation, transparency, and timely expenditure.
