FRA dedicates $5.3B for rail crossings, Amtrak fleet upgrades

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Aug. 14 announced $5.3 billion in federal grant funding to purchase new Amtrak trainsets, overhaul Amtrak locomotives and improve grade crossings throughout the country.

The grants are awarded through the FRA's National Railroad Partnership Program (NRPP). About $2 billion of the total grant package comprises funds previously awarded to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The FRA terminated $4 billion in grant funding for the high-speed rail project in July 2025.

Amtrak will receive $2.05 billion to acquire 43 new trainsets made in the United States to replace its aging fleet and another $140 million to overhaul 41 locomotives currently serving Amtrak's Midwest and Pacific Routes, FRA officials said in a press release.

Beyond Amtrak initiatives, the grant funding will support the closure of more than 30 grade crossings and upgrades to more than a thousand crossings, they added. Major awards include $356 million for the Florida Department of Transportation to perform state of good repair improvements at up to 910 grade crossings; $299 million for the city of Fairfield, Ohio, to close two grade crossings and create a new bridge over a section of the CSX Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision; and $189 million for the Texas Department of Transportation to eliminate nine crossings within Fort Worth, Dallas and Terrell.

"The projects we announced [on Aug. 14] will help make our nation’s rail network much safer because now state DOT’s across America will have the funds they need to eliminate dangerous grade crossings across the nation," said FRA Administrator David Fink. "FRA also collaborated with Amtrak over a two-year period to determine how best to distribute these funds so passenger trains can run on time and freight isn’t delayed."