Federal Railroad Administration

Quarterly Progress ReportInstructions

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Overview

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires its Grant and Cooperative Agreement recipients

(Grantees) to submit a Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) for each, individual Grant Agreement with FRA.

FRA uses QPRs to monitor and assess Grantee progress against project goals within agreed-upon

parameters, as documented in the signed Notice of Grant Agreement (NGA). This document provides

instructions for completing the FRA’s QPR form.

GeneralRequirements

Grantees must submit QPRs, using the FRA-provided form, for all quarters during the grant period of

performance as indicated on the NGA cover sheet.

QPR Reporting Cycle

Federal Fiscal

Quarter

Starting Date Ending Date Due Date

Q1 October 1 December 31 January 30

Q2 January 1 March 31 April 30

Q3 April 1 June 30 July 30

Q4 July 1 September 30 October 30

Please refer to the guidance below when making project status selections throughout each section of

the report:

On-Track: Everything is proceeding according to plan, as laid out in the NGA, Statement of Work,

detailed work plans, and FRA-approved schedule and budget.

At-Risk: Foreseeable obstacles or challenges exist, or some minor issues have already occurred.

The grantee may have a plan in place to mitigate these risks or prevent the issue from further

escalating.

Off-Track: The project has deviated significantly from the original project plan, as laid out in the

NGA, Statements of Work, detailed work plans, and FRA-approved schedules and budgets.

Grantees are reminded that submitted reports must be complete, thorough, accurate, and certified by a

representative who is authorized to verify and submit data on behalf of the grantee.

Form Section A. Submission Information

Data Element Instructions

1. Report Submission

Date

Enter the date that the report is emailed to the FRA grant manager. Reports must be

submitted quarterly, according to the “Required Reporting Cycle” table above.

2. ReportQuarter Use the drop-down menu to select the quarter covered by the completed QPR,

including “Final” if the grant will close out this quarter.
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3. FFY Enter the federal fiscal year (FFY) of the quarter for which you are reporting.

4. AgreementNumber The agreement number as it appears in line 2 of the notice of grant award (NGA)

5. Project Title The project title as it appears in line 8 of the NGA.

6. Project Type The project type (e.g. PE/NEPA, FD/Construction, and/or Planning) asit appearsin the

NGA.

7, 8, 9, 10. Completed By

(Name), Title, Email and

Phone

Enter the name, title, email, and phone number of the individual certifying thisreport.

Thisindividual should be authorized to report on behalf of the grantee.

11. Certification Check this box to certify accurate completion of this Quarterly Progress Report.

Form Section B. Overall Project Status

Data Element Instructions

12. Scope Use the drop-down menu to select the project status as it pertainsto scope, based on

the “General Requirements” guidance above. If the statusis At-Risk or Off-Track,

provide an explanation in the column to the right.

13. Schedule Use the drop-down menu to select the project status as it pertainsto schedule, based

on the “General Requirements” guidance above. If the status is At-Risk or Off-Track,

provide an explanation in the column to the right.

14. Budget Use the drop-down menu to select the project status as it pertains to budget, based on

the “General Requirements” guidance above. If the statusis At-Risk or Off-Track,

provide an explanation in the column to the right.

15. Significant Activities

thisQuarter

Number each accomplishment from this quarter (e.g. completion of a task, sub-task, or

project milestone) and provide a brief narrative of each. Additional space is provided 

in Field 41: Status Notes.

16. Significant Activities

Planned for Next

Quarter

Number each accomplishment projected for next quarter and provide a brief narrative

of each. Additional space is provided in Field 41: Status Notes.

17. Amendment Request? Use the drop-down menu to select “Yes” if any items related above require an

amendment. Use the secondary drop-down to select the current status of the

amendment request, and provide further explanation in the space provided:

• An amendment to the grant agreement has been requested and FRA has

approved (select “Submitted and Approved”);

• An amendment to the grant agreement has been requested and is pending

FRA approval (select “Submitted and Pending”); or

• An amendment to the grant agreement is currently required but not yet

submitted for approval (select “Anticipated”).

If none of these cases apply, select “No.”

Form Section C. Financial Status

When completing this section, Grantees are reminded to provide their Grant Managers with advance

notice of any substantial change to an approved Project budget. Grantees must submit a written budget

change request to FRA for approval if: (1) the intended budget action will mean that total, cumulative

budget changes between line items would now exceed 10% of the total project cost or (2) the budget
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change will cause any line item within the budget to change by more than 10%, either positively or

negatively, from the currently approved amount.

Budget Status

Data Element Instructions

18. Budget Changes? Use the drop-down menu to select “Yes” if one or more of the following is true

during the period covered by this report. Use the secondary drop-down to select

the current status of the budget change request and provide further explanation

in the space provided:

• A budget change has been requested and FRA has approved (select

“Submitted and Approved”);

• A budget change has been requested and is pending FRA approval

(select “Submitted and Pending”);

• A budget change is currently required but not yet submitted for

approval (select “Anticipated”); or

If none of these cases apply, select “No.”

Expenditures and Reimbursement Status

Data Element Instructions

19, 20, 21, 22. Actual

Expendituresthis Quarter

Provide the amount of total expendituresfor this quarter by funding source

including FRA award, grantee match, and other federal funds(if reporting on

other federal funds isrequired in the NGA) and provide a cumulative total. Totals

should match expenditures for this quarter only.

23. Accomplishments

Related to

Expendituresin this

Quarter

Provide a brief narrative describing how expenditures for this quarter tie to the

accomplishmentsfor this quarter. In doing so, please indicate how specific

expenditures align to the numbered accomplishments, asthey are identified in

Section B: Significant Activities this Quarter.

24. Accomplishments

Related to

Expendituresin Other

Quarters(if applicable)

If one of the following istrue, please provide further explanation:

• One or more of the activities identified in Section B: Significant Activities

this Quarter are not accounted for by this quarter’s expenditures; or

• One or more of the projected activitiesidentified in Section B:

Significant Activities Planned for Next Quarter are accounted for by this

quarter’s expenditures.

Reimbursement Forecast

Data Element Instructions

25. Planned

Reimbursement

Requeststo FRA

Provide the value of invoices you plan to submit for reimbursement in the next

quarter and the next four quarters(inclusive of the next quarter).

26. Unliquidated

Obligations

If you reported any unliquidated obligations in line 10f of an SF-425 covering the

period of thisreport, please select “Yes” and provide a narrative explanation.

Form Section D. Major Milestones

Grantees must complete this section if a funded project contains one or more of the components listed

in data elements 27 a-l. Use the drop-down menu to indicate if each applicable milestone is On-Track,

At-Risk, Off-Track, or Complete based on the guidelines provided in the “General Requirements” section

of this document. Provide further explanation for any status marked At-Risk or Off-Track in the “Status

Notes” section. Select “N/A” from the drop-down menu for any milestone that is not applicable (data

element 28).
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Next, provide the dates on which the applicable milestone is planned to be, or has been, completed

(data elements 29-30). Finally, select “Yes” or “No” from the drop-down menu to indicate whether the

status of the particular milestone has changed since the last report submission (data element 31).

Provide an explanation if a status has changed since the last reporting cycle (data element 32).

All Projects

Data Element Definition

27a. Award of SubContract(s)One or more contracts have been awarded to the partiesresponsible for

implementing the Statement of Work. Mark the status as complete once all subcontract(s) have been awarded.

27b. Project Work Begun Work toward one or more essential elements of the grant scope has begun.

27c. Project Substantially

Complete

All essential elements of grant scope are complete and only grant closeout

activitiesremain.

Projects with a Construction Component

Data Element Definition

27d. Construction Notice

to

Proceed Issued

FRA has issued official notice to the grantee stating the date on which the

contractor(s) may begin construction work.

27e. ROW Acquisition

Complete

Pre-existing railroad right-of-way (ROW) has been acquired in accordance with

state and local requirements.

27f. Construction GroundBreakingConstruction work has begun; may be recognized by a formal ground-breaking

ceremony.

27g. Construction

Substantially

Complete

All construction tasks are complete and only closeout activitiesremain.

27h. Environmental

Mitigation Complete

The list of mitigation commitments, found in the accompanying NEPA document,

isfulfilled correctly.

27i. Ribbon-Cutting

Ceremony

The official FRA event recognizing completion of the project.

27j. Commencement of

Service or Use

Passenger rail service has begun as a result of project completion or

infrastructure constructed as part of the project (stations, grade crossings,

switches) are completed and ready for regular use.

Projects with a Rolling Stock Component

Data Element Definition

27k. Test Vehicle Delivery Construction on first test vehicle is substantially completed and isready for

testing.

27l. First Rolling Stock

Delivery

Completion of first production vehicle intended for revenue service and delivered

to operator.

Form Section E. Statement of Work Task Status

Please provide updates to each task outlined in your NGA below. Include items at the task level only—

progress made against any sub-tasks should be taken into consideration when documenting the overall

task level progress. When determining task status, refer to the guidance provided above.

If any sub-task meets the requirement for “At-Risk” or “Off-Track” status, please mark the entire task

accordingly. FRA understands that tasks may be composed of a number of sub-tasks, and that this
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designation does not necessarily apply to the entire task. Please use the space provided in “Status

Notes” to provide further explanation.

Data Element Instructions

33, 34. Task # and Task

Name

The pre-populated task numbers and names as outlined in the official NGA.

35. Status Select the appropriate status from the drop-down menu for each task, according

to the guidance provided above.

36. Task Started? Select “Yes” or “No” from the drop-down menu.

37. Completion Date –

Planned

Provide the dates on which the task is planned to be completed.

38. Completion Date –

Actual

Once the task is complete, please enter that date here. Leave this field blank if

not yet completed.

39. % Complete Estimate the milestone completion percentage in increments of 5%. This should

reflect the amount of work that has been completed on the task, not the amount

of time that has passed in the period of performance.

40. Change to Status? Select “Yes” or “No” from the drop-down menu to indicate if the status of the

particular task has changed since the last reportsubmission.

41. Status Notes Provide a summary on recent progress, planned work, risks identified or

deviations from the work plan.

If an “At-Risk” or “Off-Track” status is selected for any tasks, you must provide

information on the issue in the space provided. Please speak to issues present at

the sub-task level and how those impact progress as a whole. While FRA

understandsthat one or more of the following issues commonly hinder project

progress, please provide context and narrative specific to your project:

• Financial concerns, including cost over-runs

• Coordination issues with state and/or local partner(s)

• Buy America concerns or non-compliance

• Project management and contracting issues

• Legal disputes

• Significant changesimpacting construction activities or timelines(e.g.

delays due to weather, materials/procurement , or labor issues)

• Other

Report Submission

Review all of the responses carefully. When responses are thorough and accurate, check the

Certification box in the first section, record the Report Submission Date, and submit to your FRA grant

manager via email.