February 22, 2024

RAIL

MOVING AMERICA FORWARD

Preparing for Upcoming FRA Funding Opportunities:

Lessons Learned from CY23

Office of Railroad Development
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FRA Presenters

Sergio Coronado

Transportation Industry 

Analyst, Rail Program 

Policy and Performance 

Division

Jenny Zeng

Transportation Industry 

Analyst, Rail Program 

Policy and Performance 

Division
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FRA’s Goal:

To better assist applicants for the CY 2024 grant cycle to prepare successful submissions

• Review of 2023 grant cycle program results

o Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program

o Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Grant Program

o Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program (FSP)

• Overall cross-program takeaways and lessons learned

o What we’ve heard from you

o Tips and new resources for the upcoming grant cycle

• Program-specific takeaways and lessons learned

• Previewing new resources and process improvements

FRA CY 2023 Grant Cycle: Lessons Learned and Key Takeaways

Agenda
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$570M

Totaling

Record Year for FRA Discretionary Grant Programs

FY22 CRISI

Applications 

evaluated

234

Selections

70

$1.4B

Totaling

FY22-23 Fed-State NEC

Applications 

evaluated

35

Selections

25 $16.4B

Totaling

Applications 

evaluated

153

Selections

63

Applications 

evaluated

92

Selections

69

$34.5M

Totaling

FY22 RCE

FY22 Corridor ID

FY22-23 Fed-State National

Applications 

evaluated

67

Selections

10 Totaling

$8.2B

4,300+%

Increase in awards totals 

between CY22 and CY23

$26.6B vs. $603.7M
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FRA CY2023 Grant Cycle: Lessons Learned & Key Takeaways Across Programs

Evaluation Process Overview

All applications go through several layers of review, including:

1. Intake and eligibility

• If an application is late, missing required documents, or deemed ineligible under program criteria as 

described in the relevant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), it will not move past this stage of 

consideration.

2. Technical review

• Reviewers assess the project’s benefits and technical merit against the evaluation criteria listed in the NOFO:

• Project implementation

• Environmental readiness

• Benefit-cost analysis (if applicable)

3. Senior Review Team

4. FRA Administrator/Secretary
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Grant Selections
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RCE — Selected Projects

From 153 eligible applications:• 63 projects were selected 

• Totaling $571 million • Across 32 states

State FRA Award Projects Selected

Texas $ 86,965,264 5

California $ 64,500,9607

Alabama $ 53,508,222 2

Washington $ 44,480,000 3

Idaho $ 36,000,000 1

New Mexico $ 31,171,0881

North Dakota $ 30,000,000 1

Tennessee $ 27,483,694 1

Kansas $ 27,453,220 3

Michigan $ 24,388,400 2

Illinois $ 24,000,000 2

Indiana $ 21,172,2115

Pennsylvania $ 16,438,596 2

Florida $ 16,040,000 3

New York $ 11,008,000 1

Ohio $ 10,245,000 2

Wisconsin $ 9,999,600 1

Minnesota $ 8,504,563 3

Iowa $ 7,756,862 1

Utah $ 3,232,000 1

Georgia $ 3,218,460 3

Virginia $ 3,200,000 1

Missouri $ 2,000,000 1

Delaware $ 1,600,000 1

Oregon $ 1,550,000 2

Maryland $ 1,534,280 1

North Carolina $ 1,220,000 1

Colorado $ 700,000 1

West Virginia $ 576,000 2

Arkansas $ 576,000 1

Montana $ 400,000 1

South Carolina $ 60,000 1

Grand Total $ 570,982,420 63
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CRISI — Selected Projects

State FRA Award Projects 

Selected

Alabama $64,711,574 4

Arkansas $11,830,000 1

California $300,442,177 6

Connecticut $5,372,500 1

District of Columbia $11,320,000 2

Florida $58,449,135 5

Iowa $8,599,720 2

Illinois $18,156,018 2

Indiana $10,813,600 2

Kansas $46,966,427 2

Kentucky $29,563,000 1

Louisiana $18,626,000 2

Massachusetts $108,085,280 1

Maryland $20,384,317 2

Michigan $35,403,000 2

Minnesota $2,623,000 2

Missouri $12,804,860 2

Mississippi $230,435,333 2

North Carolina $12,701,093 2

North Dakota $11,772,708 1

Nebraska $15,224,354 1

New Hampshire $345,000 1

New Jersey $59,136,891 1

New York $40,497,293 5

Ohio $27,644,384 3

Pennsylvania $20,050,367 2

South Carolina $4,170,000 1

Tennessee $31,118,500 2

Texas $14,842,032 3

Virginia $100,000,000 1

Vermont $9,654,789 1

Washington $76,895,000 2

Wisconsin $2,045,160 1

West Virginia $19,442,500 1

Wyoming $2,424,000 1

Grand Total $1,442,550,013 70
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FSP-N — Selected Projects

State FRA Award

Projects

Selected 

Alaska $8,200,558 1

California $3,073,600,000 1

Illinois $93,600,000 2

Maine $27,492,000 1

Montana $14,900,000 1

Nevada $3,000,000,000 1

North 

Carolina $1,095,576,000 1

Pennsylvania $143,629,028 1

Virginia $729,000,000 1

Grand Total $8,185,997,586 10
10

FSP-NEC — Selected Projects

States FRA Award Projects

Selected

Connecticut $1,994,799,600 9

Connecticut; Rhode 

Island $4,000,000 1

Maryland $6,945,906,656 5

New Jersey $673,614,377 4

New Jersey; New York $3,799,999,820 1

New York $2,963,704,249 3

Pennsylvania $30,500,000 1

Washington, DC; 

Maryland; Delaware; 

Pennsylvania; New 

Jersey

$21,600,000 1

Grand Total $16,434,124,702 25
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Cross-Program Takeaways
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Overview of Capital Project Guidance — Project Lifecycle Stages

• Multistate Regional 

Planning

• Corridor Planning

• Project Identification

• NEPA*

• PE

• Cost Estimate

• Budget and Schedule

• Project Management 

Plan & Financial Plan

• Procurement Strategy

• Stakeholder 

Agreements

• Final Engineering

• Final Budget and 

Schedule

• Procurement

• Project Agreements

• Refined Project 

Management Plan & 

Financial Plan

• Right-of-Way 

Acquisition

• Early Work and 

Relocations

• Project Use

• Project Benefits 

Assessments

• Project Lookback 

Analysis

• Purpose & Need

• Project Planning

• Conceptual 

Engineering

• Consideration of 

Alternatives

• Stakeholder 

Engagement

• Capital Construction

• Equipment 

Acquisition

• Utility Construction

• Financing Costs

• Construction 

Oversight

• Testing and 

Commissioning

*NEPA: National Environmental Policy Act, or environmental review

Ensure your application accurately describes the project lifecycle stage(s) 

you are applying for and apply for the stage you are ready for: FRA Guidance on Development 

and Implementation of Railroad 

Capital Projects
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Cross-Program Takeaways

Application Eligibility

• Application should be rail-focused

• Intercity passenger rail and freight rail safety and service improvements

• Can mention other modal improvements but keep the focus centered on rail

Framing and Writing a Good Application

• Assume your reviewer has no background on your project

• FRA reviewers come from multiple offices and disciplines 

• Narrative format impacts its level of clarity and how streamlined the info appears 

• Make it easy for reviewers to find your critical project details by following our recommended 

format

• Statement of Work (SOW)—follow templates

• Please reference SOW templates (2-5)

• Example General Grants - Attach 2 – SOW

• Example General Grants - Attach 3 - Schedule

• Example General Grants - Attach 4 – Budget

• Example General Grants - Attach 5 - Performance Measures
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Cross-Program Takeaways

Application Tips

• Clarity in funding amounts

o SF 424 form and Project Narrative funding request amounts must match

 SF 424 is only for the funding requested—not for adjacent and related projects

o Provide evidence (e.g., letter of support with funding amount) that your non-Federal match is secure

o Other Federal funding: Provide the appropriate non-Federal match for the FRA funding requested 

• Demonstrate stakeholder support

• Letter of support from host railroad/infrastructure owner 

• 22905/Infrastructure Agreements not required at the time of award, but FRA is interested in status of these discussions

• Prioritize or rank different projects if you have multiple submissions

• Note different evaluation criteria if applying to more than one grant program!

• First-time applicants: Leave adequate time to register your organization in the Federal government's System for 

Award Management (SAM) 

• System for Award Management (SAM)
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Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) 

Grant Program
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FY22 Grant Cycle Lessons Learned

RCE-Specific Takeaways

• RCE-unique eligibility requirements

• Focus on improving safety at existing grade crossings 

• Check applicant and project eligibility carefully in the NOFO

• $1M minimum funding request (except for planning-only projects)

• Safety argument is paramount

• Make the safety and mobility case for your project loud and clear 

• Include safety data, such as the grade crossing’s 5-Year Incident History: 

o Resources: 

• Program preferences: grade separations, closing crossings through track relocation, and corridor-wide 

grade crossing improvements

• Applications involving highway components

• Focus on the grade crossing in question

• FRA’s Office of Safety Analysis Grade Crossing 

Inventory and Accident Reports

• DOT Highway Rail Grade Crossing Accident Data
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Consolidated Rail Infrastructure 

and Safety Improvements (CRISI) 

Grant Program
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CRISI-Specific Takeaways

• The CRISI program is as competitive as ever—consult the latest NOFO

• Follow the required format for the Project Narrative, Statement of Work, and BCA

• Break down multiple funding sources

• A Benefit-Cost Analysis is required for every submitted project—even Workforce Development!

• Economists verify assumptions and calculations 

• Provide unlocked Excel sheets 

• Host railroad agreements—provide specifics and details on the status of discussions

• FAQs about 22905 Agreements:

FY22 Grant Cycle Lessons Learned

CRISI Grant Program

Frequently Asked Questions about Rail Improvement Grant 

Conditions (49 U.S.C. § 22905(c)(1))
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Federal-State Partnership for Intercity 

Passenger Rail Grant Program
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• Missing documentation

• BCA

• Statement of Work: Attachments 2-5

• Financial commitment documents

o Letter(s) of support 

• Major Capital Projects supporting documents 

o Capital Cost Estimate: Estimate of the cost to implement the capital project from project development construction

o Project Management Plan: Describes how the capital project will be implemented, monitored, and controlled 

o Financial Plan: Reflects the capital project’s scope, schedule, cost estimate, and funding structure, based on the capital cost 

estimate

• Intercity passenger rail (IPR) nexus

• How will the project’s purpose and need benefit IPR service?

• Shared benefits for freight rail and/or commuter rail are allowed, but expanding or improving IPR is the goal of the program

• Provide both qualitative and quantitative data on ridership, trip time, etc. Don’t just copy and paste BCA results.

• Follow requirements for Phased Funding Agreements and Letters of Intent

• Resource:

FSP-N-Specific Takeaways

FY22 Grant Cycle Lessons Learned

 Supporting documentation is key

 Expanding or improving IPR is the 

goal of FSP

 Note PFA/LOI requirements

• Major Capital Projects, LOIs/PFAs, Domestic Sourcing Plan Webinar
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• Matching funds

• Provide an accurate and precise breakdown of matching funds, 

including:

o Amount

o Source

o Status of signed commitment

• Be specific about the pledged match for the current request

o Avoid mixing or confusing details with related projects or historical funding commitments

• Construction dates

• Provide a current and reasonable estimate of construction milestones and dates

• Consistency with the NEC Project Inventory

• Where application details differ from the NEC Project Inventory, explain why in the Project Narrative 

• Focus on comprehensive, thoughtful, and complete data during the Northeast Corridor Commission Capital 

Investment Plan (CIP) submission period

o CIP data directly feeds into the NEC Project Inventory and subsequent FSP-NEC expectations

FSP-NEC-Specific Takeaways

FY22 Grant Cycle Lessons Learned

 Accurate match amount and 

breakdown

 Accurate target construction dates

 Reconcile application with NEC 

Project Inventory
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Lessons Learned for FRA
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CY 2024 FRA Discretionary Grant Calendar

FY23-24 CRISI

FY23-24 RCE

FY24 FSP-NEC

FY24 FSPNational

FY21-24 R&E 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

2024 2025

NOFO CYCLE STAGES ARE ESTIMATED FOR PLANNING PURPOSES, AND NOT EXACT DURATIONS OR DATES. CHANGES MAY OCCUR, AND FRA WILL UPDATE ACCORDINGLY.

75 DAYS

75 DAYS

75 DAYS

60 DAYS

NOFO Publication Application Period Evaluation & Selection Period Award Announcement

60 DAYS

https://railroads.dot.gov/BIL
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FRA Improvements

Feedback always welcome! 

Grants Resources • FRA Grant Programs

• FRA Grants Tool

• Upcoming FRA Grants and Loans Webinars

• Past FRA Grants and Loans Webinars

• FRA Competitive Grants Application Process

• Accident/Incident Dashboards & Data 

Downloads

• Crossing Inventory and Data Reports

• FRA Justice40 Rail Explorer

• FRA Locomotive Emissions Comparison Tool

NEW

NEW
Contact Us

Federal Railroad Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Connect with us USDOTFRA

Questions about a Notice of Funding Opportunity:

FRA-NOFO-Support@dot.gov

FRA Competitive Discretionary Grant Programs Web page:

https://www.fra.dot.gov/grants