Railroad Crossing Elimination Program

Overview

FY2025-2026 NOFO (FR-RCE-26-001), $1,146,528,000 available. Federal share ≤80%; minimum award $1M (except planning-only); no more than 20% to any single state; ≥20% rural/tribal set-aside; ≥3% planning set-aside. Eligible: states, local governments, tribes, MPOs, territories. Prior FY23-24 round awarded ~$1.15B to 123 projects in 41 states. House bill (H.R. 8870) would reauthorize at $675M/yr ($3.65B over 5 years), down from IIJA's $5.5B.

Uses

• Grade Separation
• Grade Crossing
• Planning Study

Funding

Typical award

$1,000,000

Max share

80%

Minimum match

20%

Match Rules

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

• State, local, or private cashConfirmed (NOFO)

  Same pattern as CRISI: older NOFO language, not restated explicitly in the current FY25-26 NOFO.

  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

  Same budget-table pattern as CRISI.

  Source →

  Source changed — pending re-verification

• RRIF loanUnconfirmed

  Read 49 USC 22909 directly, full text (2026-09-21): zero mention of RRIF, TIFIA, or federal credit assistance anywhere. Its only non-federal-share provision is subsection (g)'s 80% federal-share cap, with no sourcing guidance at all. RCE's FY25-26 NOFO body text remains unread (railroads.dot.gov blocks automated fetches); the statute itself is genuinely silent.

  Source changed — pending re-verification

• CDBGSource-side authority

  Same as CRISI; conditions not verified.

  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

• TIFIA loanUnconfirmed

  Read 49 USC 22909 directly, full text (2026-09-21): zero mention of RRIF, TIFIA, or federal credit assistance anywhere. Its only non-federal-share provision is subsection (g)'s 80% federal-share cap, with no sourcing guidance at all. RCE's FY25-26 NOFO body text remains unread (railroads.dot.gov blocks automated fetches); the statute itself is genuinely silent.

  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

• Tribal Government
• Port Authority
• Mpo Rpo

Terms

• Mechanism: Competitive Grant
• Authorized under 49 U.S.C. §22909
• SAM.gov registration: required

How to Apply

Most recent deadline: June 8, 2026