Arizona gets $60M in federal funding for rail improvement projects

PHOENIX — An influx of over $60 million in federal funds is set to benefit four Arizona infrastructure projects designed to strengthen supply chains and make transportation safer.

The funds from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are part of a national flush of over $2.4 billion that will support 122 rail improvement projects in 41 states.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said building up rail infrastructure projects will both create jobs and expand workforce development across the nation.

“Today’s investments in our rail systems reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to building a stronger, safer and more resilient transportation network,” Buttigieg said in a Monday news release.

Where does funding for four Arizona infrastructure projects come from?

The funding for these Arizona infrastructure projects comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

This funding will be doled out through grants from the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program.

“Each project advances a future where our supply chains are stronger, passenger rail more accessible, and freight movement safer and more efficient,” Buttigieg said.

Essentially, the funds will help get goods and people where they need to be with less pollution and lower shipping costs, he added.

Why latest round of Arizona transportation funding is significant

Amit Bose, an administrator with FRA, said the grants will better connect towns and cities across Arizona.

“FRA is investing more than ever in communities nationwide, reversing a half-century of federal underinvestment in America’s rail network and delivering the world-class rail our citizens deserve,” Bose said in the release.

The rail improvement projects will also introduce more environmentally sustainable locomotives and support Arizona’s rail workforce, Bose added.

What are the Arizona rail improvement projects?

The purpose of the four Arizona infrastructure projects benefitting from these funds is to make various state rails safer, more reliable and more resilient.

One of the projects will be spearheaded by the Arizona Eastern Railway Company. Its project to improve rail safety, efficiency and resiliency will receive up to $21.6 million.

This money will rehabilitate around 34 miles of track, replace three aging timber bridges, install two emergency crossings, retrofit two tank cars for firefighting and cut brush within rights-of-way.

Another payout will benefit a project to improve accessibility in the Flagstaff Amtrak Station. Up to $4.9 million will support the construction of a second boarding platform on the south side of the station’s railway, which is in downtown Flagstaff. This new platform will face the new track and will add accessibility improvements.

Next, GCR Acquisitions LLC will receive up to $3.3 million to upgrade part of the Grand Canyon’s transportation system. The money will pay for a locomotive upgrade that will help transport tourists to the park and back on the same battery charge.

Specifically, this third project will help rehabilitate an older diesel locomotive to a zero-emission battery-electric powered locomotive on the Grand Canyon Railway that runs between the city of Williams and the south rim of the Grand Canyon National Park.

The last Arizona infrastructure project benefitting from the grants involves the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, which will receive up to $30.2 million.

This project will improve passenger access routes at Amtrak’s station in Kingman. It will install siding, a control point and a crossover in western Arizona for Amtrak’s Southwest Chief line.