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Federal · Federal Railroad Administration

Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements

Overview

FY2025-2026 NOFO (FR-CRS-26-001) issued April 20, 2026, $2,039,246,480 available. Federal share ≤80%; no predetermined minimum or maximum award; 25% rural set-aside ($532.5M). Eligible: states, local governments, Amtrak, Class II/III railroads, and others. IIJA authorization and advance appropriations expire Sept 30, 2026 — the House's BUILD America 250 Act (H.R. 8870) would reauthorize at ~$9.1B over 5 years but convert to ordinary annual appropriations; Senate has not released a bill.

Uses

  • Signal Ptc
  • Safety Technology
  • Grade Crossing
  • Grade Separation
  • Planning Study
  • Bridge
  • Track Rehabilitation
  • Siding Passing Track
  • Yard Improvement
  • Industrial Spur
  • Transload Intermodal
  • Equipment Acquisition

Funding

Max share
80%
Minimum match
20%
FY2025-2026closedJun 25, 2026 · $2,039,246,480 available
FY2023-2024awardedno fixed deadline · $2,478,391,050 available
FY2023 (historical award data)awardedno fixed deadline
FY2022 (historical award data)awardedno fixed deadline
FY2021 (historical award data)awardedno fixed deadline
FY2020 (historical award data)awardedno fixed deadline
FY2019 (historical award data)awardedno fixed deadline

Match Rules

What can count toward the non-federal share, by source. Full matrix across every program →

  • State, local, or private cashConfirmed (NOFO)

    Rests on FY22 webinar and FY23-24 NOFO language saying the 20% may be public (state/local) or private funding. The current FY25-26 NOFO requires naming non-federal sources but doesn't restate the allowed types.

    Source →

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • In-kind contributionsConfirmed (NOFO)

    Per 2 CFR 200.306.

    Source →

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • Other federal grant funds (general)Default no

    Default no unless the source program's own statute allows it. The NOFO's budget tables track "Other Federal Cost Share" as a separate line, not as match.

    Source →

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • CDBGSource-side authority

    DOT cites this reg as source-side authority for using CDBG on other federal cost share. Conditions not verified — the underlying statute/regulation wasn't read directly.

    24 CFR 570.201(g) →

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • Title 23 formula fundsUnconfirmed

    23 USC 130(h) lets the Section 130 crossing set-aside cover a state-law-required local match on Section 130 projects THEMSELVES — that's intra-Title-23 use, not authority to use Section 130/STBG/HSIP funds as match on a different federal program like this one. Checked (2026-09-21); nothing found confirming or denying cross-program use.

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • RRIF loanUnconfirmed

    Read 49 USC 22907 directly, full text (2026-09-21): zero mention of RRIF, TIFIA, or federal credit assistance anywhere. Its only non-federal-share provisions are (h)(3) — Amtrak/rail-carrier ticket revenue — and (h)(4) — prior preliminary-engineering costs. CRISI's FY25-26 NOFO body text remains unread (railroads.dot.gov blocks automated fetches); the statute itself is genuinely silent. Note: a general web search on this exact question surfaced a summary that misattributed 49 USC 6701(i)(2)(C) — MEGA's statute — to CRISI, the same error this doc's own finding #4 already warned about (a GoRail page doing the same thing). Treat any secondary source claiming a clean CRISI/RRIF statutory answer with real suspicion.

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • TIFIA loanUnconfirmed

    Read 49 USC 22907 directly, full text (2026-09-21): zero mention of RRIF, TIFIA, or federal credit assistance anywhere. Its only non-federal-share provisions are (h)(3) — Amtrak/rail-carrier ticket revenue — and (h)(4) — prior preliminary-engineering costs. CRISI's FY25-26 NOFO body text remains unread (railroads.dot.gov blocks automated fetches); the statute itself is genuinely silent. Note: a general web search on this exact question surfaced a summary that misattributed 49 USC 6701(i)(2)(C) — MEGA's statute — to CRISI, the same error this doc's own finding #4 already warned about (a GoRail page doing the same thing). Treat any secondary source claiming a clean CRISI/RRIF statutory answer with real suspicion.

    Source changed — pending re-verification

  • Regional commission fundsSource-side authority

    Whichever regional commission covers the project area (Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority, or Northern Border Regional Commission) may have its own statutory authority to pay part of the non-federal share on another federal grant program — see notes for the specific citation per commission.

    Researched and verified directly (2026-09-21). Three separate regional-commission statutes each grant source-side authority, none naming any rail/port program specifically: ARC — 40 USC 14321(a)(4), "Notwithstanding any law limiting the federal share in any other federal or federal grant program, amounts appropriated to carry out this section may be used to increase that federal share, as the Commission decides is appropriate." DRA — 7 USC 2009aa-3, may raise a project's federal share up to 90% using DRA funds, conditioned on the administering federal agency certifying the project meets that program's own requirements. NBRC (and Subtitle V regional commissions generally) — 40 USC 15507 ("available for the payment of the non-Federal share for any project carried out under another Federal grant program") plus 40 USC 15506(b). Same caveat as the CDBG rows: this is generic source-side authority — none of these three statutes confirms this program's own NOFO or statute actually accepts it.

    40 USC 15507 →

    Source changed — pending re-verification

Eligibility

  • Class Ii
  • Class Iii
  • Tribal Government
  • State Agency
  • Municipality
  • County
  • Port Authority

Terms

  • Mechanism: Competitive Grant
  • Authorized under 49 U.S.C. §22907
  • SAM.gov registration: required

Track Record

Funded, on record
303 awards
Total awarded, on record
$3,300,839,844
Win rate
Not available — our records only cover who won, not who applied.

See every confirmed award, with sources →

Recipients

  • Unclassified · 181
  • Shortline · 51
  • State Dot · 13
  • Municipal · 12
  • Shortline Holdco · 8
  • University · 7
  • Public Authority · 6
  • Amtrak · 6
  • State Agency · 6
  • Port · 5
  • County · 5
  • Trade Assoc · 1
  • Passenger · 1
  • Labor · 1

How to Apply

Visit Federal Railroad Administration →

Most recent deadline: June 25, 2026

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