National Railroad Passenger Corporation Grants

The Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration funds intercity passenger rail operations and capital investment through the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Grants program (CFDA 20.315), with the most recent grant award dated October 1, 2025, and multiple grant opportunities posted with due dates extending through April 30, 2026.

Funding under this program supports Amtrak's operating expenses, capital maintenance of rolling stock and infrastructure, capital expansion and investment programs, and debt service. Recent awards document work spanning Northeast Corridor operations and facilities, National Network state-supported and long-distance routes, restoration and modernization of passenger rail rolling stock and stations, and elimination of state-of-good-repair deficiencies. A September 2022 cooperative agreement obligated $15.64 billion toward restoration, rebuilding, and modernization of intercity passenger rail rolling stock, facilities, and infrastructure. Two October 2024 cooperative agreements obligated $1.13 billion and $1.28 billion respectively for Northeast Corridor and National Network operations, capital, and debt service through January 2028. Two October 2025 cooperative agreements obligated $427.74 million and $379.56 million for National Network and Northeast Corridor operations through January 2029.

The program is exclusively funded by the Federal Railroad Administration and has distributed $49.53 billion in federal dollars across 40 awards dating to 2008. Assistance is delivered predominantly through Cooperative Agreements (25 awards, 63 percent of total) with a smaller share of Project Grants (14 awards, 35 percent) and one Block Grant (3 percent). Recent award velocity has averaged 2–4 awards per year, with 3 awards in 2024 and 2 awards in 2025.

Amtrak is the sole eligible recipient for this program. Application approval timelines range from 2–6 weeks; proposals must align with statutory priorities and include detailed statements of work, capital project descriptions with cost estimates and completion timelines, operating and capital cost projections versus prior-year actuals, and documentation of safety culture improvement efforts. Environmental clearance is required for capital components, and recipients must retain records for three years following grant closeout per 2 CFR Part 200.

Currently open solicitations include FR-AMT-26-007 (National Network Cooperative Agreement, $1.14 billion, due April 30, 2026) and FR-AMT-26-006 (Northeast Corridor Cooperative Agreement, $461.19 million, due April 30, 2026) under FY26 supplemental appropriations, as well as earlier-posted IIJA supplemental opportunities (FR-AMT-26-001 and FR-AMT-26-002, both due November 18, 2025) offering $1.19 billion and $3.13 billion respectively for rolling stock, facilities, and deferred capital work.