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The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) last week announced more than $2.4 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for 122 rail improvement projects in 41 states and Washington, D.C. This includes three projects in California, Colorado, and Pennsylvania to support deployment of hydrogen-related transportation technologies and applications.
Hydrogen-related projects include the following:
- $36.5 million to the California Air Resources Board to replace 10 diesel locomotives with nine battery-electric locomotives and one hydrogen fuel-cell locomotive, along with four battery chargers. Pacific Harbor Line will acquire five battery locomotives and two chargers; Watco will acquire four battery locomotives and two chargers; and the Sacramento Valley Railroad will acquire the hydrogen locomotive.
- $11.7 million to Colorado State University-Pueblo for safety experiments and testing of rail vehicles powered by compressed hydrogen and compressed natural gas. The University of Hawaii and OptiFuel are partners and will contribute a 36% match.
- $48.4 million to East Erie Commercial Rail in Pennsylvania for research and development of dual-fuel combustion engines using hydrogen and liquid hydrogen tenders. Testing at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado, will help operators, first responders, and others learn how to safely handle hydrogen, as well as develop best practices for operating and maintaining hydrogen technology. Wabtec, Linde, and Greenbrier are also involved and will provide a 20% match.
According to FRA officials, these projects will make rail safer, more reliable, and more resilient, getting goods and people where they need to be quickly with fewer disruptions, lower shipping costs, and less pollution.
Administered through FRA's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, these grants will collectively benefit every region of the country, especially rural communities. Projects in this round of selections reflect the broad array of rail safety and service improvements eligible under this program, such as upgrading track, replacing or rehabilitating aging bridges, expanding rail connections at ports, adding modern locomotives to fleets, and more. The CRISI Program is also the only federal grant program prioritizing smaller, short line railroads vital to the American economy and regional supply chains.
See the full list of Fiscal Year 2023 and 2024 CRISI project selections and additional information on FRA's CRISI Program.
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