FTA: Rail Vehicle Replacement Program Applications Welcome
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Applications are due Dec. 18 for the second round of FTA’s Rail Vehicle Replacement Program grant funding. Utah Transit Authority received $60 million through the program earlier this year to buy 20 LRVs to replace older railcars and improve service, reliability, safety and accessibility.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on Oct. 10 reported that approximately $197 million in competitive grant funding is now available through its Rail Vehicle Replacement Program.
The Fiscal Year 2024 program funds will help transit agencies and state and local governmental authorities replace commuter rail, heavy rail, and light rail vehicles, including propulsion vehicles (locomotives), that have exceeded their useful life, according to FTA. The Rail Vehicle Replacement Program is a set-aside of the State of Good Repair Formula Grants Program (49 U.S.C. 5337). The application period closes Dec. 18, 2023. (Scroll down for the Notice of Funding Opportunity published in the Federal Register.)
According to FTA, fleet expansion projects are not eligible under this program. If a procurement includes both expansion and replacement vehicles, it said, only the cost of the replacement vehicles may be included in the total eligible project cost.
FTA reported that it will “consider the size of the rail system of the applicant, the amount of funds available to the applicant from this program, the age and condition of the rail rolling stock of the applicant that has exceeded or will exceed the useful service life in the five-year period following a grant award, and whether the applicant has identified replacement of the rail vehicles as a priority in the investment prioritization portion of the transit asset management plan of the recipient pursuant to part 625 of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.”
“One-third of subway and commuter rail vehicles are more than 25 years old,” FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in an Oct. 11 statement. “Americans who ride transit deserve the opportunity to travel on newer, safer, and more efficient railcars, and we are proud to provide support for transit agencies to make the significant investments needed to replace their aging railcars and make their systems more accessible.”
The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $1.5 billion in new funding through 2026 for FTA’s Rail Vehicle Replacement Program.
In May, the agency announced the first Rail Vehicle Replacement Program award recipients:
- Sacramento Regional Transit District (Sacramento, Calif.): $45.1 million to buy 16 light rail vehicles, which will replace older vehicles that have exceeded their useful life. This investment will improve the agency’s state of good repair needs and improve service and reliability for the region’s 1.7 million residents.
- South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (operates Tri-Rail commuter rail service in Miami and along the 72-mile South Florida Rail Corridor): $71.7 million to replace 24 rail vehicles (32% of its fleet). The funding will support new locomotives and passenger cars to replace older vehicles that have exceeded or are near the end of their useful life. This project will ensure safe, reliable, and efficient transportation for Tri-Rail’s 12,500 daily riders.
- Chicago Transit Authority: $200 million to buy up to 300 new electric propulsion passenger railcars to replace railcars that have been operating since the 1980s. This project will improve CTA’s state-of-good-repair needs in a fleet where the average age of its railcars is nearly 40 years.
- Bi-State Development Agency (operator of the Metro public transportation system serving the St. Louis, Mo., metropolitan region): $196.3 million to replace 48 light rail vehicles that have exceeded or are near the end of their useful life. The project will improve service and reliability as it addresses state-of-good-repair needs.
- Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA): $130 million to buy 60 new light rail and heavy rail vehicles to replace older vehicles that can operate on both systems, eliminating the need for GCRTA to run two separate fleets. This project will improve system reliability and safety and enhance the agency’s operational flexibility.
- Utah Transit Authority: $60 million to buy 20 light rail vehicles to replace older railcars. The project will improve service, reliability, and safety and significantly improve accessibility for riders by allowing direct access and reducing the use of boarding devices.
