Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Calling On Senate Appropriations To Fight For Rail Funding In FY24 Spending Negotiations

Letter

Dear Chairs Murray and Schatz and Ranking Members Collins and HydeSmith,

As you work to finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2024 spending legislation, we urge you to support
no less than $100 million for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State
Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) grant program--the amount included in the
committee-passed Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill. The House of
Representatives has proposed zeroing out this account. Eliminating funding for the IPR grant
would hinder ongoing work to improve rail infrastructure in the Northeast and across the
country.

The IPR was reauthorized in the IIJA "to fund capital projects that reduce the state of good
repair backlog, improve performance, or expand or establish new intercity passenger rail
service." In general, not less than 45% of annual funding is reserved for projects along the
Northeast Corridor (NEC), which are to be consistent with the most current NEC Service
Development Plan. In addition, not less than 45% of annual funding is reserved for projects not
located along the NEC, with preference given to projects included in a corridor development
(i.e., service improvement and expansion) plan previously selected by the FRA. In addition, a
share of the funding provided to non-NEC projects must also benefit, in whole or in part, one of
Amtrak's fifteen Long-Distance routes.

While the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) provided five years of guaranteed
funding for the Federal-State Partnership grant program, this funding was always intended to be
supplemental to annually appropriated dollars. The IIJA also authorized up to $1.5 billion for
IPR grants in fiscal year 2024. The IIJA investment alone is not sufficient to fully address the
nation's rail state-of-good-repair (SOGR) backlog nor to fully improve and expand intercity
passenger rail in a way that America deserves.

Why the Northeast Corridor needs robust funding

The NEC's SOGR backlog stands at well over $40 billion, representing a serious threat to the
nation's economy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amtrak and commuter railroads on the
NEC transported more than 800,000 people per weekday, and the workforce that travels on the
NEC contributes roughly $50 billion annually to the economy. However, the specter of the
SOGR backlog causing delays or track closures is a constant concern. According to the
Northeast Corridor Commission, "[t]he loss of the NEC for a single day could cost the country
$100 million in added congestion, productivity losses, and other transportation impacts." If
Congress does not make the necessary investments, disruptions will become more frequent and
more severe over time.

While the IIJA made a significant down payment to help address this SOGR backlog, it is
simply not enough given the years of underinvestment and the age of the assets. Without
sufficient annual appropriations to supplement the IIJA, many of the NEC's most critical
projects will not advance. Below are just a few examples of NEC projects that FRA Project
Inventory has identified to begin construction by 2025:

 Connecticut River Bridge Replacement Project in Connecticut;
 Stamford Station Improvements in Connecticut;
 Norwalk River (Walk) Bridge Replacement Project in Connecticut;
 East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project in New York;
 Elements of the Gateway Program in New York and New Jersey;
 Harrisburg Line Interlocking, Catenary and Signal projects in Pennsylvania;
 Philadelphia Gray 30th Street Station Improvements in Pennsylvania;
 Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Program Phase 1 in Maryland;
 Baltimore Penn Station Improvements in Maryland;
 B&P Tunnel Replacement Project (Frederick Douglass Tunnel) in Maryland; and
 Washington Union Station Improvements in the District of Columbia

Why non-NEC projects need robust funding

In 2021, Amtrak released a $75 billion, 15-year vision to bring more trains to more people across
the nation. This vision was meant to start an important conversation about the need for robust
federal investment in passenger rail, especially in underserved and unserved communities.
Congress responded by authorizing the FRA Corridor Identification and Development Program
and the IIJA provided $12 billion via the Federal-State Partnership grant program as in initial
down payment on non-NEC rail expansion. While this IIJA funding is a critical first step, to fully
realize the type of passenger rail network that the country deserves, the Federal-State Partnership
grant program will require robust additional funding in FY24 and beyond. Below is an
illustrative list of types of non-NEC corridor development and related projects that federal
investment could advance, assuming support from relevant states and communities and approval
by the FRA:
 Vermonter route expansion to Montreal;
 Chicago Access Program projects in Illinois to reduce trip times and improve capacity for
existing and future Midwest routes and connections to the south and east;
 More frequencies and enhanced service on Cascades Corridor in Washington and
Oregon;
 A new Front Range Corridor in Colorado and Wyoming connecting Denver, Colorado
Springs, Pueblo and Cheyenne;
 A new Massachusetts Inland Route service;
 More frequencies on the Hiawatha Corridor in Wisconsin and Illinois and extension to
Madison, Green Bay, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, as well as St. Paul, Minnesota;
 A new Phoenix-to-Tucson corridor in Arizona;
 More frequencies on the Downeaster Corridor in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and
Maine;
 A new "3C+D Corridor" in Ohio connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and
Cincinnati;
 Rebuilding of an abandoned higher-speed rail corridor between Richmond, Virginia, and
Raleigh, North Carolina;
 Heartland Flyer route extension to connect Kansas communities, including Wichita, with
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas;
 Upgrades to the rail corridor between Chicago, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, potentially
including new service to Louisville;
 A new corridor in Texas, connecting Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, and San Antonio;
 Multiple new rail connections in California; and,
 A multi-corridor network from a new Atlanta Hub station, including new corridors to
Nashville, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia; and elsewhere
in the South.
 Reestablish passenger rail service between Scranton and New York via New Jersey.

On behalf of our millions of constituents who depend on a safe and reliable passenger rail
network and also those who deserve access to passenger rail but do not have it as a meaningful
option today, we urge the Subcommittee to vigorously defend the $100 million appropriation for
FY 2024 for the Federal-State Partnership for IPR program.

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