Rail Passengers' Surface Transportation Blueprint

[Last updated: March 16, 2025]

Sec. 1 - Reauthorize Core Rail Programs

Rail Passengers Association believes that the primary goal for passenger rail in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization will be to build on the foundation of the programs introduced across the last four reauthorization cycles.

There will be key opportunities to fine tune these programs to speed up the planning and implementation process and lower project costs, a number of which are included in this document. However, the primary thrust of our reauthorization proposal centers on extending current programs and ensuring that studies initiated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) are implemented.

Recommended Actions

A. Reauthorize Existing Rail Programs

Rail Passengers supports the reauthorization of the following programs, with a few key policy reforms:

49 U.S.C. Ch. 243 - Amtrak National Network and Northeast Corridor Operations

49 U.S.C. § 24911 - Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (FSP)

• Allow Amtrak to use National Network grant funds, Northeast Corridor grant funds, and ticket and other revenues generated from its operations or other sources to satisfy non-Federal share requirements of certain grant programs.
• Stipulate that no more than 40 percent of the FSP funding in any given year may be awarded to projects located on the Northeast Corridor;
• Direct the FRA to publish a full list of grant applicants for each FSP NOFO, along with internal scoring used for determining grant awards; and
• Direct the FRA to incorporate grant applications submitted through the FSP Program Notice of Funding Opportunities, but not selected to receive a grant, as an appendix in the Project Pipeline report it is required to submit to Congress annually (§25101(G)), in order that Congress may gain a better sense of the work being carried out by eligible entities to upgrade and expand the U.S. intercity passenger rail network.

49 U.S.C. § 22907 - Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program

• Allow Amtrak to use National Network grant funds, Northeast Corridor grant funds, and ticket and other revenues generated from its operations or other sources to satisfy non-Federal share requirements of certain grant programs.

49 U.S.C. § 25101 - Corridor Identification (CID) Program

• Authorize sufficient funding for the CID program (which currently operates as a setback program) to carry out its mission.

49 U.S.C. § 22908 - Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) Grant Program

• Note: Rail Passengers believes the R&E Grant Program plays a critical role in providing operational assistance to states launching new passenger rail services. However, Rail Passengers recognize that -- were formula fund distribution of rail funds (as described in Sec. 1(D) of this document) to be enacted -- this program may well be redundant and eligible to be phased out.

49 U.S.C. § 22909 - Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program

49 USC § 24101 - Next-Generation Equipment Committee

49 U.S.C. § 24905 - Northeast Corridor Commission (NECC)

State-Amtrak Intercity Passenger Rail Committee (SAIPRC)

(B) Extend Funding at Current Levels

Given overwhelming demand from States, interstate compacts, regional passenger rail authorities, regional planning organizations, and other eligible entities (including short-line freight railroads), Rail Passengers is advocating for the extension of the investment levels established by the IIJA for all programs listed in Sec. 1(A) of this document.

The IIJA must not be a one-off investment in the U.S. rail network. The Federal investment in interstate highways, established through the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, represents a multi-decade effort to connect communities across the U.S. through a modern interstate road network, which continues to the present day. The U.S. interstate passenger rail network cannot succeed without a strong Federal partner that is willing to invest across multiple surface transportation authorization cycles.

(C) Establish a Source of Dedicated Funding or Utilize Advance Appropriations for Discretionary Rail Grants

Rail Passengers Association remains an interested party in the discussion of how to address the growing deficit between Highway Trust Fund and Mass Transit Account receipts and outlays. Congress has, since 2008, addressed the deficit by providing almost $276 billion in transfers from the General Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.

The Congressional Budget Office projects that beyond 2028, assuming baseline spending levels, the Trust Fund will have a $40 billion revenue shortfall in 2029, with the shortfall increasing steadily each successive year, reaching $46 billion per year in 2032.

• To the extent that General Funds continue to be used to backstop the Trust Fund, we believe passenger rail should be a beneficiary of these transfers.
• The IIJA established a workable five-year funding framework, with two-thirds guaranteed advance appropriations and one-third authorized funding subject to annual appropriations.
• Absent advance appropriations, our Association stands ready to support the creation of a robust Passenger Rail Trust Fund. This Trust Fund could utilize diverse revenue streams, including:
  • Intercity Railroad Passenger Tax assessed at point of sale;
  • E-Commerce Transportation Network Impact Fee;
  • General Sales Tax, similar to those established by the Commonwealth of Virginia to fund rail infrastructure and operations;
  • A broadly-based tax Station Area Value Capture Tax program for NEC and National Network- served train stations; and
  • Transformation of current FAST Act INFRA program to create a larger Intermodal Freight Fund, establishing a 1% freight user fee, projected to produce $9 billion a year, for an intermodal fund with no limitation on the percentage committed to rail projects.

(D) Formula Distribution of Rail Funds to States

The absence of formula funds has hindered passenger rail development, particularly for rural states and states not located next to legacy, high-frequency passenger rail service corridors. Introduction of formula funding would allow States to invest local tax dollars with confidence, enabling agencies to build up the administrative capacity to efficiently administer these programs. By smoothing Federal financial support for planning, construction, and operating activities -- as compared to the current overreliance on discretionary grant programs, which require the identification of a local funding match in the absence of any guarantees in securing Federal funding through a discretionary grant program -- Congress can empower States to become full partners in developing the U.S. intercity passenger rail network.

• Required Report—Each State that receives a formula grant shall submit to the Secretary a report describing how the State rail plan and activities to expand passenger rail service, particularly high-performance rail service, includ- ing routes selected under the Corridor Identification and Development Program established under section 25101 of title 49, United States Code.

• Eligible Use of Funds—A State awarded formula grants may use funds from such grant to advance rail planning and operations by:
  • Hiring and retaining staff;
  • Pooling funds with other States to advance interstate initiatives and projects;
  • Making improvements to existing rail infrastructure;
  • Constructing new rail infrastructure;
  • Carrying out such other rail activities as the Secretary determines appropriate, including studying the impacts on freight rail operations and ridership and operations coordination;
  • Promoting intercity passenger rail operation; and
  • Preparing applications for competitive Federal grant programs.

• Formula Distribution—In allocating grant funds among the States, the FRA Administrator shall:
  • Ensure that each State receives not less than $10,000,000; and
  • Apportion the remaining grant funds among the States based on the respective population of such States.
  • Authorization of Appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $3,500,000,000 for the 5-year period following the enactment of this bill to provide formula rail grants to States.

(E) Repeated Rail Planning Cycle

Rail Passengers strongly supports beginning and sustaining a repetitive national planning cycle similar to those now undertaken by states producing state rail plans. By “recycling” service development work, project planning, and project development, significant savings could be realized in time and expense for eligible entities moving through the FRA’s CID project pipeline phases.

Congress should direct the FRA to:

• Update regional network planning on a seven year cycle to ensure that changed conditions are taken into account;
• Work with states to incorporate all state-level rail planning efforts into the FRA’s regional efforts; and
• To the extent possible, utilize the output of these planning cycles to expedite movement of projects through the Service Development Plan phase of the CID Program.

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Sec. 2 - Implementing the Federal Railroad Administration’s Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study

Section 22214 of the IIJA directed the FRA to conduct an Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study (LDSS) to evaluate the restoration of daily intercity rail passenger service along (1) any Amtrak long-distance routes that, as of the date of enactment of the IIJA, were discontinued, and (2) any Amtrak long-distance routes that, as of the date of enactment of the IIJA, occur on a non-daily basis.

The network of selected preferred route options, if implemented, would provide passenger rail access to 39 million people that don’t currently have access to passenger rail, including 7 million people in rural communities. The network of selected preferred route options, which could serve 34 states, would also increase access to key destinations -- including 61 additional Metropolitan Statistical Areas; 74 additional medical centers; 75 National Parks, Recreation Areas, and Preserves; and 3,237 higher education institutions.

Fully realized, the FRA’s Long-Distance Service Study (LDSS) represents a long-term infrastructure strategy that will play out over decades, involving tens of billions of taxpayer dollars. These routes are, definitionally, interstate transportation corridors involving multiple states and scores of local jurisdictions. This endeavor demands a Federal partner capable of enacting a national transportation vision. Rail Passengers is asking Congress to authorize a Long-Distance Service Working Group capable of implementing this vision, building on the expertise and working relationships established during this study.

Recommended Actions

(A) National Long-Distance Rail Service Commission

Based upon our participation in the FRA’s Daily Long-Distance Service Study (LDSS), our Association recommends the formation of a National Long-Distance Rail Service Commission (LDRSC) as part of the USDOT to bring together all the Federal agencies with a role to play in building out this new Network, as well as key stakeholders such as tribes, organizations representing state agencies, local elected and appointed officials, relevant Class I representatives, and passenger groups.

Congress should:

• Authorize creation of a LDRSC as a quasi-independent entity within the FRA, similar to the Gulf Coast Working Group (P.L. 114-94, § 11304, 129 Stat. 1312, 1655 [Dec. 4, 2015]), to engage in planning, construction, and procurement activities necessary to introduce phased introduction of service on the 15 routes identified by the LDSS;
• Establish a funding source capable of covering LDRSC planning and coordination activities;
• Direct the LDRSC to engage with Amtrak, States, groups of States, entities implementing interstate compacts, regional passenger rail authorities, regional planning organizations, political subdivisions of a State, federally recognized Indian Tribes, relevant Class I and other host railroads, private sector rail operators, and other entities, as determined by the Secretary, to carry out its mission; and
• Authorize the LDRSC, in conjunction with eligible entities, to apply for FSP Grants to carry out advanced planning, construction, and procurement activities.

(B) Daily Long-Distance Service Study and the Corridor Identification and CID Program

• Direct the FRA to add all 15 corridors identified in the LDSS to the CID Program to expedite key planning activities while a longer-term governance structure is developed (see Sec. 2 (A)).

(C) Addressing Complications Arising From The 750-mile Long-Distance Definition

• Direct the FRA to clarify that, when an eligible applicant is engaged through the CID to introduce intercity passenger rail service along a new or restored Long-Distance Route (as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 24710), this service shall be exempt from Sec. 209 operational funding requirements, even if service is introduced in phased segments whose total operational length is less than 750 miles in length.

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Sec. 3 Planning, Construction, and Procurement Policy Reforms

Recommended Actions

(A) Streamline Environmental Review, Assessments and Planning

Establish a "shot-clock" for Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments for passenger rail projects, with recourse to a binding enforcement mechanism.

(B) Leverage Flexibility Under Current Law

Current statutes define 22 categories of FRA Categorical Exclusions (CEs) (§771.116) that do not involve significant environmental impacts and are subject to expedited review. However, the FRA’s current planning process takes far too long, forming a significant obstacle to the introduction of new service. As just one example, the FRA’s LDSS assumes four years for project planning and four years of project development for corridors that are, definitionally, running over active rail corridors.

Congress should direct the FRA to maximize the use of existing CEs for passenger rail projects by:

1. Exempting passenger rail corridor development activities from discretionary review processes otherwise required by law when they will operate over Class 4 Track and higher (as established by Title 49 § 213).

(C) Standardize Project Elements

Direct the FRA to promulgate comprehensive, performance-based regulations on passenger rail infrastructure elements to incentivize standardized station, signaling, and equipment designs across the U.S. rail network. To the practical extent that these elements can be repeated between different projects, they will lower manufacturing costs and maximize interoperability.

• Direct the FRA to promulgate comprehensive, performance-based regulations for all passenger rail projects, which will allow innovation within individual projects and remove the barrier of slow, one-off Rules of Particular Applicability;
• Allow the DOT and the FRA to improve, adapt, and integrate proven technology for commercial application in passenger rail service in the U.S.;

(D) Mandate Formalized Cost Transparency

Congress should mandate that Amtrak, the FRA, and FSP grantees provide an itemized list of costs for each project or major grant. This will assist public-sector innovation in project management, increase transparency, and reduce friction in change orders. These cost itemizations should be readily accessible to the public.

(E) Enable Railroad Right-of-Way Acquisition

• Authorize advance acquisition of railroad right-of-way (similar to advance acquisition permitted for highway and transit projects) by allowing the Secretary to assist a grantee in acquiring right-of-way before the completion of the environmental reviews for any project that may use the right-of-way if the acquisition is otherwise permitted under federal law;
• Establish an incentive for freight operators to sell, grant easement on, or lease freight-owned land along existing right-of-way for passengers rail development;
  • Freight railroads may sell, grant an easement on, or lease land to a Section 26101 or 26106 grantee, with zero federal tax on this revenue;
  • Freight railroads that sell, grant an easement on, or lease land shall receive a federal tax credit equal to the amount of revenue from this activity to be applied in a year where the freight railroad purchases a like amount of land along the portion of right-of-way affected;
  • Freight railroads that sell, grant easement on, or lease land for high-speed rail development shall be granted the same liability protections granted to freight railroads that host Amtrak services (49 U.S.C. 28103);
  • Capital investments or improvements made to freight railroad right-of-way (e.g. turnouts, passing track, signaling, crossings, etc.) by Section 26101 or 26106 grantees shall not be considered taxable income; and
  • Ensure that all entities that do traditional rail work employing workers in crafts or classes recognized under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) are deemed carriers for the purposes of RLA and the Railroad Retirement Act (RRRA), with some reasonable exemptions for contractors.