December 8 Corridor ID and Federal State Partnership Program - National Network grant awards

Here is the full list of national network projects for this year

CRISI FY22 National network projects (Previously announced):
CHSRA - Six Grade Separations in the City of Shafter Project (Up to $201,946,942)
Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority - Sacramento to Roseville Third Track – Phase 1 Project (Up to $42,510,000)
Amtrak - Mississippi-Louisiana Grade Crossing Improvement Project (Up to $1,826,000)
MassDOT - Connecting the Commonwealth: Early Actions for the Inland Route Project (Up to $108,085,280)
Amtrak - Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project (Up to $178,435,333)
VPRA - Franconia-Springfield Bypass Project (Up to $100,000,000)

Fed State National network FY22/23 projects (Announced December 8):
Alaska Railroad - ARRC Milepost 190.5 Bridge Replacement Project (Up to $8,200,558)
CHSRA – California High-Speed Rail Service Project (Up to $3,073,600,000) (Phased Award FY22-26)
Amtrak - Chicago Hub Projects:
Chicago Union Station Mail Platform Reactivation Project* (Up to $49,600,000)
Chicago Union Station Platform Capacity Expansion & Trainshed Ventilation Improvements Project* (Up to $44,000,000)
NNEPRA - Downeaster Corridor Track Improvement Project (Up to $27,492,000)
Amtrak – Malta, MT, Corridor Operational Enhancement Project (For Empire Builder) (Up to $14,900,000)
Brightline – Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail System Project (Up to $3,000,000,000) (Phased Award FY22-26)
NCDOT - Raleigh to Richmond (R2R) Innovating Rail Program – Phases IA and II (Up to $1,095,576,000) (Phased Award FY22-26)
PennDOT - Pennsylvan ian Rail Modernization Project (Up to $143,629,028)
VPRA - Transforming Rail in Virginia Phase 2 Project (Up to $729,000,000)

Corridor ID awards and the "official map"
https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot ... EbjERMWZMA

Takeaways: HSRRail.org

Pretty: Map:

Takeaways From a Blockbuster Week for Trains Across America

Today, the Biden Administration formally announced the awards for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail and the Corridor ID Program. This combines Year 1 and Year 2 of a five -year commitment contained in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The big awards went to just a few projects, with several features common to all of them: 1) The state has shown a high level of commitment, in terms of funding and planning. 2) The state controls most of the land. 3) The project is ready to go.

Those states and projects were:

California: Continuing construction of the Central Valley segment of the Los Angeles–San Francisco 186+ mph high-speed line. $3,073,600,000
Nevada: Constructing the Las Vegas–L.A. Basin 186+ mph high-speed line. $3,000,000,000
North Carolina: Constructing regional rail on the Raleigh–Richmond segment of the New York–Atlanta Corridor. $1,095,576,000
Virginia: Building a second Long Bridge to improve the New York–Atlanta Corridor and other routes. $729,000,000
...

Well there has been discussions on many forums. One thing brought up is that some of the routings could be helped by extending services; i.e. an Empire Service train extension to Cleveland [think Empire State Express]. But that wouldn't be enough money spent, some routings shown exist today on paper and barely in reality.

Bu it is Amtrak, and we have come to live with the fact that most good advice is thrown away and we get maybe a partial accomplishment. Will see how it further develops.

Sources:

• FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Billions to Deliver World-Class High-Speed Rail and Launch New Passenger Rail Corridors Across the Country | The White House
• President Biden Announces $8.2 Billion in New Grants for High-Speed Rail and Pipeline of Projects Nationwide | US Department of Transportation
• PowerPoint Presentation - FY22-23 Fed-State (National) Project Fact Sheets_final_r2.pdf
• lordsigma12345's link with title: FY22 CID Project Summaries-Map.pdf
• Jeff Smith's link with title: Takeaways From a Blockbuster Week for Trains Across America | High Speed Rail Alliance

The projects, with expected construction dates:

• Replacement of an Alaska Railroad bridge near Willow AK: 2025-26
• California Central-Valley HSR: 2025-29
• Chicago Union Station improvements
• Maine Downeaster track improvements: 2024-25
• Malta MT track improvements: 2026-26
• Brightline West: 2024-28
• Raleigh to Richmond (R2R): Raleigh NC to Wake Forest NC: 2024-33
• Pennsylvanian track improvements: Harrisburg PA to Pittsburgh PA: 2024-30
• DC to Richmond VA: second Potomac bridge, 3 passing sidings: 2024-29

FY22 CID Project Summaries-Map-r1.pdf - big list

New HSR: Brightline West, CAHSR ... Texas: Dallas TX - Houston TX ... Cascadia: Vancouver BC CA - Seattle WA - Portland OR - (?) Eugene OR ... Charlotte NC - Atlanta GA ... High Desert: Victor Valley CA - Palmdale CA

New conventional rail service: Asheville NC - Salisbury NC (a little N of Charlotte NC) ... Atlanta GA - Savannah GA ... Atlanta GA - Chattanooga TN - Nashville TN - Memphis TN ... Baton Rouge LA - New Orleans LA ... Boston MA - Springfield MA - Albany NY ... CA Central Coast Corridor: San Jose CA - Monterey CA - San Luis Obispo CA, branch to Santa Cruz, CA ... Charlotte NC - Kings Mountain NC ... Quad Cities: Chicago IL - Moline IL ... Chicago IL - Fort Wayne IN - Columbus OH - Pittsburgh PA ... 3C&D: Cleveland OH - Columbus OH - Dayton OH - Cincinnati OH ... Cleveland OH - Toledo OH - Detroit MI ... Coachella Valley: LA - Coachella CA ... Colorado Front Range: Fort Collins CO - Denver CO - Colorado Springs CO - Pueblo CO ... Commonwealth Corridor: Newport News VA - Richmond VA - Charlottesville VA ... Diamond State Line: N Delaware - Dover DE - E Maryland ... St. Paul MN - Eau Claire MN ...Fayetteville NC - Raleigh NC ... Gulf Coast: New Orleans LA - Mobile AL ... Houston TX - San Antonio TX ... I-20 Corridor: Dallas TX - Shreveport LA - Jackson MS - Meridian MS ... Jacksonville FL - Orlando FL - Miami FL ... Kentuckiana: Indianapolis IN - Louisville KY ... Miami FL - Orlando FL - Tampa FL ... Milwaukee MN - Madison MN - Eau Claire WI ... North Coast Hiawatha: restoring Chicago IL - St. Paul MN - Bismarck ND - Billings MT - Sandpoint ID - Spokane WA - split into Seattle WA, Portland OR ... Northern Lights Express: Minneapolis MN - Duluth MN ... Chicago IL - Peoria IL ... Phoenix AZ - Tucson AZ ... Philadelphia PA - Reading PA ... NYC - Scranton PA ... Fort Worth TX - Dallas TX - Houston TX ... TCMC: Chicago IL - St. Paul MN ... Raleigh NC - Wilmington NC ... Raleigh NC - Winston-Salem NC

Existing routes with extensions: Amtrak to Long Island: NYC - Ronkonkoma NY ... Capitol Corridor: San Jose CA - Salinas CA, Suisun/Fairfield CA - Novato CA, Roseville CA - Reno/Sparks NV .. .Downeaster: (Boston MA - Brunswick ME) improvements ... Green Mountain Corridor: NYC - Albany NY - Rutland NY - Burlington VT ... (Chicago IL - ) Quincy IL - Hannibal MO ... Heartland Flyer: (Fort Worth TX - ) Oklahoma City OK - Wichita KS - Newton KS ... Kansas City MO - St. Joseph MO ... Pacific Surfliner / LOSSAN (San Luis Obispo CA - LA - San Diego CA) - San Ysidro CA ... Hiawatha: (Chicago IL - ) Milwaukee WI - Green Bay WI ... San Joaquin (Oakland CA, Sacramento CA - Merced CA), Sacramento CA - Redding CA ... Vermonter (Springfield MA - ) St. Albans VT - Montreal QC CA ... (DC - ) Roanoke VA - Bristol VA ... Wolverine: (Chicago IL - ) Detroit/Pontiac MI - Windsor ON CA

Existing routes: Adirondack Corridor (NYC - Montreal QC CA) ... Amtrak Cascades (Vancouver BC CA - Eugene OR) ... Alaska Railroad (Seward AK - Fairbanks AK) ... Carolinian (DC - Charlotte NC) ... Illini/Saluki (Chicago IL - Carbondale IL) ... Pere Marquette (Chicago IL - Grand Rapids MI) ... Blue Water (Chicago IL - Port Huron MI) ... Lincoln (Chicago IL - St. Louis MO) ... Daily Cardinal (NYC - DC - Chicago IL) ... Daily Sunset (Los Angeles CA - New Orleans LA) ... Empire Corridor (NYC - Niagara Falls NY) ... Hartford Line (New Haven CT - Hartford CT) ... (Chicago IL - Indianapolis IN) ... Keystone (Philadelphia PA - Pittsburgh PA) ... Hiawatha (Chicago IL - Milwaukee WI)

That's a lot. I'll now look for patterns. First, how suited for HSR are Atlanta-Charlotte and Cascadia?

• Atlanta GA 6.144 M - Charlotte NC 2.660 M
• Cascadia: Eugene OR 0.383 M - Portland OR 2.512 M - Seattle WA 4.019 M - Vancouver BC CA 2.643 M
• Texas Triangle: Houston TX 7.122 M - DFW 8.121 M - Austin 2.421 M - San Antonio 2.601 M
• California HSR: SF Bay Area 9.71 M - Fresno CA 1.009 M - Bakersfield CA 0.909 M - Los Angeles CA 13.201 M
• Northeast Corridor: DC 6.385 M - Baltimore 2.845 M - Wilmington DE 0.724 M - Philadelphia PA 6.245 M - Trenton 0.387 M - NYC 20.140 M - New Haven CT 0.862 M - Providence RI 1.677 M - Boston MA 4.942 M
• London UK 14.8 M - Paris FR 13.025 M
• Tokyo JP 40.8 M - Osaka JP 19.3 M

So Atl-Char and Cascadia are not quite as populous as the likes of Texas and California.

I also note the reactivation of a long-distance route, the North Coast Hiawatha, which parallels the Empire Builder, and runs to the south of that line. Looking at the map, it runs through all the states the EB runs through, and it does not add the two contiguous-US states that lack Amtrak routes: South Dakota and Wyoming.

Also, two long-distance routes will be upgraded from 3 times a week to once a day: Cardinal, Sunset, and at least three long-distance routes will be getting more trains over some of their length, including: Pennsylvanian: Harrisburg - Pittsburgh ... Empire Builder: Milwaukee - Twin Cities ... Lake Shore Limited: Boston - Albany. Those route segments are all corridor-like, and nearly all of these proposed routes and extensions and upgrades are short-distance corridor routes rather than long-distance ones.

California doesn’t look as appealing once you consider that SF and LA are not part of the initial build.

Texas is a prime candidate. Unfortunately the state does not seem supportive.

Is this FY23 money?
Proposed FY24 money? Remember, the 218 aren’t necessarily friendly to any government spending.
Multi-year funding?

Don’t believe this until one of the recipient agencies signs a contract.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Sun Dec 10, 2023 6:44 am California doesn’t look as appealing once you consider that SF and LA are not part of the initial build.

That routing seems like Foot-in-the-door technique - Wikipedia - a way of building a demo segment when one's available funds are limited. It will likely have connecting buses on both ends, like what Amtrak does. I estimate that these buses would take 2 1/2 - 3 hours to make their trips. The train itself would take less than an hour.

And yet the point remains - it's not nearly as appealing without SF or LA. Though the new plan does seem to connect to the LA transit system, which is something.

John_Perkowski wrote: ↑Sun Dec 10, 2023 4:51 pm Is this FY23 money?
Proposed FY24 money? Remember, the 218 aren’t necessarily friendly to any government spending.
Multi-year funding?

Don’t believe this until one of the recipient agencies signs a contract.

It's FY22 and FY23 money which were simultaneously awarded in this funding opportunity. The grants for the big projects like CAHSR, Brightline West, and the S Line project are phased over the life of the IIJA. They got an initial payment from the FY22 and FY23 funds and will receive supplemental funds in batches in FY24, FY25, and FY26. As a result they only have about $3 billion left to award the last 3 years unless they move over some money and don't grant the maximum to NEC projects next year. They did a two year award this year in both the NEC and National Federal State Partnership programs to "catch up." So FY24's will just be for the FY24 money. The FRA's separate CRISI grant program is still a year behind - as FY23's funding opportunity awarded only the FY22 money. CRISI's FY24 funding opportunity will be double the size as they'll be awarding both the FY23 and FY24 money and that program will then be caught up as well.