FRA 13-23

December 8, 2023

Contact: FRA Public Affairs

Tel.: (202) 493-6024 

FRAPA@DOT.gov

President Biden Announces $8.2 Billion in New Grants for High-Speed Rail and 

Pipeline of Projects Nationwide

Announcement includes 10 projects in 9 states ready for construction and 69 corridors across 44 states 

identified for future development through two grant programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure 

Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration 

(FRA) today announced that it has awarded $8.2 billion for 10 passenger rail projects across the country

while announcing corridor planning activities that will impact every region nationwide. This 

unprecedented investment in America’s nationwide intercity passenger rail network builds on a $16.4 

billion investment announced last month for 25 projects of national significance along America’s busiest 

rail corridor. To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced nearly $30 billion in investments 

for our nation’s rail system. 

Projects announced through the Federal State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (Fed-State 

National) Program will advance two high-speed rail corridors and fund improvements to existing rail 

corridors for expanded service and performance. These investments will:

• Help deliver high-speed rail service in California's Central Valley

• Create a brand-new high-speed rail corridor between Las Vegas, Nevada, and southern 

California, serving an estimated 11 million passengers annually 

• Make major upgrades to existing conventional rail corridors to better connect Northern Virginia 

and the Southeast with the Northeast Corridor

• Expand and add frequencies to the Pennsylvania Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and 

Pittsburgh

• Extend the Piedmont Corridor in North Carolina north, as part of a higher-speed connection 

between Raleigh and Richmond, Virginia 

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• Invest in Chicago Union Station, as an initial step toward future improvements to the critical 

Midwest corridors hub

• Improve service in Maine, Montana, and Alaska

“Today, the Biden-Harris Administration takes another historic step to deliver the passenger rail system 

that Americans have been calling for – with $8.2 billion for faster, more reliable, expanded train service 

across the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this funding, we’ll 

deliver America’s first high-speed rail on a route between Southern California and Las Vegas, complete 

major upgrades for riders in Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, Montana, and 

Alaska, and announce a comprehensive plan that makes it easier to expand passenger rail lines in 44 

states.”

At the same time, FRA is announcing 69 corridor selections across 44 states through the Corridor 

Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program, which will drive future passenger rail 

expansion.

Corridor ID, a new planning program made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,

will help guide intercity passenger rail development throughout the country. This inaugural round of 

selections aims to upgrade 15 existing rail routes, add or extend service on 47 new routes, and advance 7

new high-speed rail projects, creating a pipeline of intercity passenger rail projects ready for 

implementation and future investment. FRA will work closely with states, transportation agencies, host

and operating railroads, and local governments to develop and build passenger rail projects faster than 

ever before.

“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law gave us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to think 

smart and think big about the future of rail in America, and we are taking full advantage of the resources 

we have to advance world-class passenger rail services nationwide,” said FRA Administrator Amit 

Bose. “Today’s announcement is another step forward as we advance transformative projects that will 

carry Americans for decades to come and provide them with convenient, climate-friendly alternatives to 

congested roads and airports. We’re thinking about the future too with comprehensive and systematic 

planning efforts to transform the U.S. intercity passenger rail network now and in the years to come.”

Examples of planning and development activities selected through the Corridor ID program include:

• New high-speed rail service in the Cascadia High-Speed Rail Corridor between Oregon, 

Washington, and British Columbia

• New high-speed rail service between Dallas and Houston

• New and upgraded Midwest Chicago hub corridors:

o Daily, multi-frequency service from Chicago to Indianapolis 

o Increased frequencies from Chicago to Milwaukee to the Twin Cities, with an extension 

to Madison, Wisconsin

o Improved service and increased frequencies from Chicago to Detroit, with an extension 

to Windsor, providing a direct connection to Canada’s high-speed rail network

o A comprehensive plan for the Chicago terminal and service chokepoints south of Lake

Michigan benefiting all corridors and long-distance trains south and east of Chicago

• New service between the Twin Cities and Duluth, Minnesota
• New service from Fort Collins to Pueblo, Colorado, with intermediate stops at Boulder, Denver, 

and Colorado Springs 

• New service between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, with multiple daily frequencies 

• New service connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana 

• New connections between the Northeast Corridor and Northern Delaware and Reading and 

Scranton, Pennsylvania 

• Expanded connections and increased frequencies within California’s extensive conventional rail 

network 

• Expanded connections and service in Florida’s intercity rail network between the key travel 

markets of Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Miami 

• New service between Atlanta and Savanah, and from Atlanta to Nashville and Memphis via 

Chattanooga 

• Restoration of service between Chicago and Seattle, Washington, through multiple rural 

communities in North Dakota and Montana that are currently not served by passenger rail

Two years after signing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Biden has already announced the 

most significant investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak, including billions in FederalState Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants for projects on America’s busiest rail corridor in the

Northeast and for others nationwide. Coupled with rail investments announced earlier this year, 

including the new Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) program grants and Consolidated Rail 

Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants, President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda 

is laying the foundation for the safe and modern rail network Americans need and deserve.
To view the full list of Fed-State National project selections and Corridor ID selections, please click

here and here. 

Additional information about the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program can be 

found here, while further information on the Corridor ID Program is available here. 

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