Deregulation, streamlining NEPA, grant reform among FRA's priorities, deputy administrator says
9/17/2025
By Julie Sneider, Senior Editor
The Federal Railroad Administration’s priorities under the Trump administration are to focus on deregulation, increase the number of safety inspectors and get federal grants that fund rail projects out the door faster, FRA Deputy Administrator Drew Feeley said last week.
During a Sept. 10 webinar sponsored by freight-rail advocacy group GoRail, Feeley described what the FRA has been up to since the second Trump administration took office in January. Feeley is serving as the agency’s acting administrator until the U.S. Senate votes on President Trump’s nomination of former short-line executive David Fink as administrator.
GoRail offered the webinar as an overview of the legislative and regulatory topics of interest to the freight-rail industry under the new administration and Republican-led Congress.
Over the past several months, the FRA has been working on deregulation in response to an executive order from Trump.
“We are working diligently to pare back as many regulations as we can without compromising safety,” Feeley said. “For every one regulation promulgated, we have to deregulate 10.”
That’s up from the first Trump administration’s aim, in which the FRA sought to cut two regulations for every new one, Feeley noted. In June, the agency had 57 deregulatory efforts underway, which Feeley said weren’t “super big but were meaningful and a step in the right direction.”
Streamlining the permit process
Along with regulatory reform, FRA officials are examining ways to streamline the permitting process, particularly those required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Streamlining NEPA permitting has long been of interest to the rail industry, due to the impact the years-long NEPA process typically has on railroad infrastructure projects.
For example, NEPA permit requirements that are inconsistent or overlap with others are under review. Regarding NEPA, the agency is considering more categorical exclusions; allowing more environmental assessments instead of environmental impact statements; and shortening time limits for judicial reviews and statutes of limitations. Such changes would create more “certainty” in the NEPA permitting process — “which has been weaponized in the past” by project opponents, Feeley said.
Aiming for certainty in grantmaking
On the topic of funding, Feeley said FRA places a high priority on creating certainty for the FRA grant application process and speeding up funding disbursements for programs like the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements; the Rail Crossing Elimination, which was new under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021; the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail; and Restoration and Enhancement.
Additionally, the department hopes to streamline the grant application process through the use of a common application for applicants applying for funding under multiple programs.
“We are working diligently to pare back as many regulations as we can without compromising safety.” — FRA Acting Administrator Drew Feeley U.S. Department of TransportationWhen it comes to grant funding, the FRA is now “more partial to freight rail” projects, Feeley said. Although “Amtrak and passenger rail is important,” there likely will be more emphasis on freight-rail funding in the current administration than in the past. That’s partly why U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been canceling federal funding for passenger-rail projects that he calls “boondoggles” — including the California high-speed rail project, Amtrak’s pursuit of a high-speed rail line in Texas and the Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation project — and redirecting those dollars to worthwhile projects in passenger rail “or more potentially in freight rail,” Feeley said.
Other issues that the FRA has addressed over the past several months include:
• preparation of the agency’s recommended proposals in the surface transportation reauthorization legislation that will succeed the IIJA, which expires on Sept. 30, 2026. The agency is considering consolidating or changing some grant programs, such as creating one just for freight rail;
• “monitoring” the proposed merger between Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway, which are preparing their application for review by the Surface Transportation Board. Although the STB is the government entity that decides whether the merger can go forward, the FRA will have to review a safety integration plan that will be part of the process, Feeley said;
• defending in court the FRA’s rule that mandates a minimum train-crew size. After the FRA gave final approval to the rule during the Biden administration, the Association of American Railroads and individual railroads sued, arguing the rule is unnecessary. Labor unions support the rule; and
• looking at ways the FRA can support technological innovation in the rail industry.
Feeley wrapped up his presentation by encouraging railroad and industry leaders to reach out to the agency with their input.
“We want to listen to you and have you tell us how we can benefit you,” he said. “We [the FRA] have to make sure we keep the railroads safe, but we don’t want to be too prescriptive with the industry. We invite you all to come in and talk to us.”
