USDOT Awards $500 Million to Eliminate Freight Rail Chokepoints and Modernize Rail Corridors

WASHINGTON, DC — Addressing critical supply chain congestion and expanding continental shipping capacity, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced the award of $500 million in competitive grant funding through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program on Monday, delivering major civil engineering capital to modernize 10 key commercial freight and passenger rail corridors across 14 states.

The massive federal funding package finances structural upgrades aimed at eliminating severe operational bottlenecks on the national freight rail network. Projects funded under the grant allocation include the construction of 85 miles of continuous second-track sidings, the modernization of obsolete pneumatic interlocking switches, the structural rehabilitation of century-old rail bridges, and the installation of advanced Positive Train Control (PTC) automated collision avoidance signaling along high-density cargo arteries.

High-Priority Continental Rail Freight Corridors

The funding packages provide direct capital to state departments of transportation, regional port authorities, and Class I/shortline railroad partnerships. Major project investments include:

• Chicago Rail Hub Modernization ($120 Million): Constructing grade separations and automated dispatch interlockings on the CREATE rail corridor in Illinois, untangling the nation’s busiest freight rail interchange and reducing cross-country rail freight delays by 36 hours.
• Gulf Coast Intermodal Rail Expansion ($95 Million): Upgrading 45 miles of coastal track and building double-stack container staging sidings between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, directly connecting deepwater ocean container terminals with Midwest distribution hubs.
• Appalachian Freight Rail Bottleneck Relief ($85 Million): Expanding tunnel clearances and laying continuous welded rail through mountain passes in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio to accommodate double-stacked intermodal freight trains.
• Pacific Northwest Agricultural Rail Corridor ($75 Million): Constructing high-speed passing sidings across Washington and Oregon, accelerating unit grain trains delivering wheat and agricultural commodities to Pacific export terminals.

"The American economy runs on freight rail, moving agricultural crops, industrial goods, and consumer products to every corner of our country," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated. "These CRISI grant awards eliminate century-old rail chokepoints, enhance track safety, prevent catastrophic derailments, and ensure our national freight network can move goods quickly, reliably, and efficiently."

Freight Rail Associations and Agriculture Producers Endorse

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) strongly commended the grant distribution, highlighting the critical role of federal matching funds in modernizing shared freight and passenger rail infrastructure.

"Eliminating chokepoints on our national rail network is one of the highest-return infrastructure investments the federal government can make," said Ian Jefferies, President of the AAR. "These projects enhance network velocity, reduce idling fuel consumption, and provide the dependable shipping capacity that American manufacturers and farmers rely on to compete in global markets."

Labor unions representing rail workers, including the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), praised the mandatory inclusion of union labor standards and modern electronic safety braking systems across all funded rail corridors.

Procurement and Construction Timeline

The Federal Railroad Administration confirmed that grant agreements will be formalized with recipient state agencies and rail operators by December 2026. Heavy civil track excavation, bridge reconstruction, and signal installation will commence across all 10 rail corridors in spring 2027.