Interstate Rail Compacts

The purpose of the IRC program is to provide a federal funding opportunity to entities implementing interstate rail compacts. Congress authorized the IRC grant program for the Secretary to invest in a wide range of projects within the United States t

The Interstate Rail Compacts grant program is a new competitive program that will provide financial assistance to entities implementing interstate rail compacts. The purpose of the program is to improve, promote, and develop intercity passenger rail service, including activities related to the financing of such service, and to encourage multi-state grant applications.

Interstate, State, State (includes District of Columbia, public institutions of higher education and hospitals), Local (includes State-designated Indian Tribes, excludes institutions of higher education and hospitals.

Entities implementing interstate rail compacts means an existing entity, such as a commission, that has been established by member states to implement the Interstate Rail Compact. Applications must identify an eligible applicant as the lead applicant. The lead applicant serves as the primary point of contact for the application, and if selected, as the grantee. Eligible applicants may reference entities that are not eligible applicants in an application as a project partner.

a. Costs of Administration, which include staffing costs for administrative, professional, or technical staff, or contractors serving administrative functions or providing technical oversight. Costs of administration also include the cost of activities or work products that facilitate Interstate Rail Compacts carrying out their duties effectively and timely, such as information technology, accounting, human resources, and procurement. b. Systems Planning, a high-level planning study that considers new transportation services or enhancing existing transportation systems by examining broad needs, challenges, and opportunities, including studying the impacts of freight rail operations on system performance and ridership. Systems planning occurs prior to corridor or project planning and identifies potential solutions to transportation challenges that can be examined at a more detailed level of study. Examples of systems planning work products include development of new or updates to existing regional rail planning studies. Systems planning should include strong community and stakeholder engagement elements, advisory and participation mechanisms to obtain planning input in a thorough, inclusive, and equitable basis. This will also include community engagement efforts already taken or planned, the extent to which engagement efforts are designed to reach impacted communities, whether engagement is accessible for persons with disabilities or limited English proficient persons within the impacted communities, and how community feedback is taken into account in decision-making. c. Promotion of intercity passenger rail operation, including marketing and advertising intercity passenger rail services. Promotional activities include website development, social media management, print materials, direct advertising, collecting customer feedback, and stakeholder outreach. d. Preparation of applications for competitive federal grant programs, including technical staff or contractor support to prepare applications and documentation associated with preparing an application for financial assistance, such as preparing operating plans, funding plans, benefit-cost analysis, and any other documentation that is required to be provided as part of an application for a federal grant. e. Operations Coordination, including coordinating interstate passenger rail services among states and with shared freight operations. Examples include, syncing schedules to facilitate better connections between overlapping services, identifying opportunities for creating operational efficiencies through optimizing the use of shared Amtrak resources, coordinating corridor utilization by other stakeholders such as freight rail, right of way coordination, shared maintenance, and joint procurement of services or equipment. FRA is prohibited under 49 U.S.C. 22905(f) from providing Interstate Rail Compact grants for commuter rail passenger transportation (as defined in 49 U.S.C. 24102(3)). FRA's interpretation of this restriction is informed by the language in 49 U.S.C. 22907. FRA's primary intent in funding rail projects is to make reasonable investments in intercity passenger rail and freight rail transportation. Such projects may be located on shared corridors where commuter rail passenger transportation and/or freight rail also benefit from the project. Consistent with 2 CFR 200.458, as applicable, FRA will only approve pre-award costs if such costs are incurred pursuant to the negotiation and in anticipation of the grant agreement and if such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of work. Under 2 CFR 200.458, grantees must seek written approval from FRA for pre-award activities to be eligible for reimbursement under the grant. Activities initiated prior to the execution of a grant or without FRA's written approval may be ineligible for reimbursement or matching contribution. Cost sharing or matching may be used only for authorized Federal award

Transportation, Planning

After the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is published, FRA will provide 90 days for applications to be submitted.

Pre-application coordination is required. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

FRA will evaluate the project benefits of the proposed project for the anticipated private and public benefits relative to the costs of the proposed project and the summary of benefits provided in response to subsection D(2)(b)(ii) including- (A) Effects on system and service performance; (B) Effects on safety, competitiveness, reliability, trip or transit time, and resilience; (C) Efficiencies from improved integration with other modes; and (D) Ability to meet existing or anticipated demand. ii. Technical Merit: FRA will evaluate application information for the degree to which- (A) The tasks and subtasks outlined in the SOW are appropriate to achieve the expected outcomes of the proposed project. (B) Applications indicate ongoing commitment from each member state to achieving the proposed project. (C) The applicant has, or will have the legal, financial, and technical capacity to carry out the proposed project. The technical qualifications and experience of key personnel proposed to lead and perform the technical efforts, and the qualifications of the primary and supporting organizations to fully and successfully execute the proposed project within the proposed timeframe and budget are demonstrated. (D) The proposed project is consistent with planning guidance and documents set forth by DOT, including those required by law or State rail plans developed under Title 49, United State Code, Chapter 227, as appropriate. c. Selection Criteria In addition to the eligibility and completeness review and the evaluation criteria outlined in this subsection, the FRA will apply the following selection criteria: i. The amount of funding received (including funding from a rail carrier (as defined in section 24102)) or other participation by State, local, and regional governments and the private sector; ii. The applicant's work to foster economic development through rail service, particularly in rural communities; iii. Whether the applicant seeks to restore service over routes formerly operated by Amtrak, including routes described in section 11304(a) of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015 (title XI of division A of Public Law 114-94); iv. The applicant's dedication to providing intercity passenger rail service to regions and communities that are underserved or not served by other intercity public transportation; v. Whether the applicant is enhancing connectivity and geographic coverage of the existing national network of intercity passenger rail service; vi. Whether the applicant has prepared regional rail or corridor service development plans and corresponding environmental analysis; and vii. Whether the applicant has engaged with appropriate government entities and transportation providers to identify projects necessary to enhance multimodal connections or facilitate service integration between rail service and other modes, including between intercity passenger rail service and intercity bus service or commercial air service.

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for this listing will be posted on Grants.gov (opens in new window) (opens in new window). For any supporting application materials that an applicant cannot submit via Grants.gov, such as oversized engineering drawings, an applicant may submit an original and two (2) copies to Mr. Douglas Gascon, Office of Rail Program Policy and Evaluation, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Room W38-212, Washington, DC 20590. Due to delays caused by enhanced screening of mail delivered via the U.S. Postal Service, FRA advises applicants to use other means of conveyance (such as courier service) to assure timely receipt of materials before the application deadline. Additionally, if documents can be obtained online, providing instructions to FRA on how to access files on a referenced website may also be sufficient. Applicants should use generally accepted formats such as .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx and .ppt, when uploading attachments. While applicants may embed picture files, such as .jpg, .gif, and .bmp, in document files, applicants should not submit attachments in these formats. Additionally, the following formats will not be accepted: .com, .bat, .exe, .vbs, .cfg, .dat, .db, .dbf, .dll, .ini, .log, .ora, .sys, and .zip. If an applicant experiences difficulties at any point during this process, please call the Grants.gov Customer Center Hotline at 1-800-518-4726, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (closed on Federal holidays). For information and instructions on each of these processes, please see instructions at: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.

FRA is committed to responding to applicants in a reasonable and timely manner. Response times will vary based on size, scope, complexity and volume of applications.